SEBASTIAN  RALE 

JOHN  FRANCIS  SPRAGUE 


SEBASTIAN    RALE 

A  MAINE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE 
EIGHTEENTH    CENTURY 


te  little  else  tljan  a  picture 
of  fcuman  crimes  ana  misfortunes," 

— VOLTAIRE 


I 


SEBASTIAN  RALE 

A  MAINE  TRAGEDY  OF  THE 
EIGHTEENTH  CENTURY 


BY 
JOHN  FRANCIS  SPRAGUE 

AUTHOR   OF  "PISCATAQUIS   BIOGRAPHY  AND   FRAGMENTS," 
"  HISTORY  OF  DORIC   LODGE,"  ETC. 


BOSTON,  MASS. 

PRINTED  BY  THE  HEINTZEMANN  PRESS 
1906 


Copyright,  1906 
By  JOHN  FRANCIS  SPRAGUE 


PREFATORY. 

A  VERY  wise  man  once  averred  that  "there 
is  no  new  thing  under  the  sun."  The 
student  of  history  may  be  entirely  familiar  with 
the  principal  facts  appearing  in  the  following 
pages,  and  I  do  not  claim  to  have  discovered  any 
new  evidence  regarding  the  career  of  that  re 
markable  character,  Sebastian  Rale,  or  the  scenes 
of  his  turbulent  life.  They  are  interwoven  with 
the  early  history  of  New  England,  and  the  truth 
cannot  be  obliterated  by  sympathy  or  prejudice. 
It  has,  however,  long  been  my  impression  that 
many  of  the  writers  who  have  attempted  to  il 
luminate  this  subject  have  in  a  measure  lost 
sight  of  the  paramount  fact  that  Rale  was  sta 
tioned  upon  territory  the  right  of  possession  to 
which  was  in  controversy  between  two  of  the 
great  world-powers,  each  of  whose  discoverers, 
adventurers  and  missionaries  were  in  the  van- 


- 

o 


[  8  ] 

guard  of  the  brave  men  who  established  civili 
zation  in  the  New  World. 

Although  considered  and  written  from  the 
Protestant  point  of  view,  and  in  no  wise  from 
that  of  the  Roman  Catholic  Church,  I  have  en 
deavored  to  treat  this  matter  in  the  full  light  of 
what  is  impartial  and  just. 

J.  F.  S. 

MONSON,  MAINE. 


CONTENTS 

THE  KILLING  OF  SEBASTIAN  RALE      .          .  1 1 
THE  PORTSMOUTH  AND  ARROWSIC  TREATIES  55 
How  MUCH  CONDONE  ?     How  MUCH  CON 
DEMN?        ......  65 

THE  INDIANS  OF  MAINE  AND  THE  TRA 
DITION  OF  PAMOLA       .         .          .         .  77 

LETTERS  : 

Rale  to  Captain  Moody         .          .          .  101 

Rale  to  his  Brother      .          .          .          .  104 

Rale  to  his  Nephew     .          .          .          .  117 
The  Governor  of  Massachusetts  to  "the 

Governor  of  New  France         .          .  129 

RALE'S  DICTIONARY           .          .          .          .  137 

INSCRIPTION  ON  RALE'S  CHURCH         .         .  145 

HISTORICAL  COMMENTS     ....  147 
THE  TWELFTH  ARTICLE  OF  THE  TREATY 

OF  UTRECHT       .....  160 

AUTHORITIES   .  162 


ILLUSTRATIONS 

RALE'S  CHAPEL  AT  NORRIDGEWOCK  Frontispiece 

A  STREET  SCENE  IN  NORRIDGEWOCK,  ME.    .  31 

TICONIC  FALLS,  WATERVILLE,  ME.    .         .  39 

THE  RALE  MONUMENT     ....  53 

BIG  THUNDER          .....  79 

INDIAN  ISLAND,  OLDTOWN,  ME.         .         .  87 

THE  LATE  REV.  MICHAEL  O'BRIEN,  V.  G.  139 

OLD  FORT  HALIFAX         .         .         .         .  149 


10 


THE  KILLING 
OF  SEBASTIAN  RALE 


The  Killing  of 
Sebastian  Rale. 


THE  world's  highway  over  which  civili 
zation   has    advanced   has   ever   been 
marked  by  blood  and  has  ever  been 
the  scene  of  carnage  and  suffering. 

It  is  always  the  strong  against  the  weak,  who 
are  all  unconscious  participators  in  the  eternal 
struggle  of  the  fittest  for  supremacy.  In  all  his 
tory  no  better  illustration  of  this  fact  may  be 
found  than  in  the  story  of  the  Anglo-Saxon  and 
the  French  pioneers  in  New  England,  Acadia 
and  New  France  in  North  America. 

Their  brave  endurance  of  hardship  and  pri 
vation,  their  fierce  battle  with  the  elements  in  a 
boundless  wilderness,  their  continual  war  with 
savages,  their  constant  conflict  with  each  other, 
and  the  ultimate  triumph  of  the  Anglo-Saxon, 
read  like  the  tales  of  romance. 

13 


[   H] 

That  hardy  mariner,  Jacques  Carrier,  sailed 
from  the  home  of  his  nativity  in  St.  Malo  on 
the  twentieth  day  of  April,  1534,  steered  for 
Newfoundland,  advanced  up  the  St.  Lawrence, 
and  upon  his  return  to  France  infused  that  na 
tion  with  a  new  spirit  of  discovery  and  aggran 
dizement,  a  desire  to  compete  with  the  Spaniard 
and  the  conquering  and  gold-seeking  English 
man  ;  and  on  the  seventeenth  day  of  September, 
1759,  Quebec  was  surrendered  to  Wolfe,  the 
Anglo-Saxon  possessed  himself  of  New  France, 
and  the  history  of  the  world  was  changed. 

At  the  time  of  Cartier,  the  opposing  forces 
to  the  Catholic  church  set  in  motion  by  Luther 
had  convulsed  Germany,  and  John  Calvin,  a 
worse  heretic  than  Luther,  was  infecting  France, 
so  that  devout  Catholics  under  Francis  the  first 
aspired  not  only  to  build  up  a  new  France  across 
the  Atlantic  but  to  convert  the  infidels  of  the 
New  World  as  well. 

From  Cartier  to  Wolfe  covered  a  period  of  a 
little  more  than  two  centuries,  but  for  about  fif 
ty  years  after  his  time,  France  was  so  engaged 
that  New  France  was  practically  abandoned  by 
that  government. 

The  religious  and  political  ambition  of  the 


[  is] 

French  people  revived  about  1605,  under  Les- 
carbot,  Champlain,  and  other  leaders,  and  New 
France  was  born  again. 

From  that  time  until  the  fall  of  Quebec,  the 
spiritual  and  temporal  interests  of  France  were 
united,  and  the  conversion  of  the  Indians  was 
undertaken  with  a  zeal  that  has  never  been  sur 
passed  in  the  annals  of  religious  movements. 

That  the  scheme  to  Christianize  the  red  men 
embraced  commercial  and  political  as  well  as  re 
ligious  interests,  is  undoubtedly  a  fact. 

TheRecollet  friars  were  the  first  to  enter  upon 
the  stupendous  undertaking  of  rescuing  from 
the  bondage  of  Satan  a  people  living,  as  they 
averred,  "  like  brute  beasts,  without  faith,  with 
out  law,  without  religion,  without  God."  But 
this  order  not  succeeding,  the  plan  was  supple 
mented  by  the  Jesuits  in  1634,  just  a  century 
after  Jacques  Cartier  had  sailed  up  the  St.  Law 
rence. 

Thus  the  religious  destinies  of  this  part  of 
the  New  Continent  passed  into  the  hands  of  the 
powerful  Society  of  Jesus,  the  followers  of  Igna 
tius  de  Loyola,  who  was  born  in  1491  under  the 
Spanish  flag.  He  is  among  the  immortals  of 
history,  as  he  was  the  founder  of  the  strongest 


[  16  ] 

and  most  potent  religious  order  ever  known  in 
the  world.  First  embracing  the  profession  of 
arms,  he  was  wounded  in  battle  in  the  defense 
of  Pampeluna.  While  convalescing  in  the  cave 
of  Mouresua  he  first  indulged  in  reading  ro 
mance,  but  when  these  books  were  exhausted 
he  was  thrown  upon  the  only  other  available 
reading,  —  that  of  the  lives  of  the  saints.  This 
inspired  and  fired  an  ardent  spirit,  and  the  result 
was  that  he,  alone  in  that  cave,  evolved  the  out 
lines  for  a  plan  that  formed  this  mighty  society. 

Parkman  says,  "In  the  forge  of  his  great  in 
tellect,  heated  but  not  disturbed  by  the  intense 
fires  of  his  zeal,  was  wrought  the  prodigious 
enginery  whose  power  has  been  felt  to  the  utter 
most  confines  of  civilization." 

It  was  one  of  the  bravest  and  most  famous  of 
this  great  organization,  Paul  la  Jeune,  that  was 
selected  to  lead  the  hosts  of  Jesus  against  a  con 
tinent  of  savages,  some  of  whom  were  cannibals.* 
Father  la  Jeune  wrote  to  his  superior  when  he 
first  arrived  at  Quebec :  "  The  harvest  is  plen 
tiful  and  the  laborers  few." 

*  Some  authorities  have  claimed  this  to  be  a  fact,  but  the 
writer  now  believes  that  a  preponderance  of  evidence  is 
against  it. 


[  17] 

Parkman  in  his  fascinating  work,  "  The  Jes 
uits  of  North  America"  (page  6),  observes:  — 

"These  men  aimed  at  the  conversion  of  a 
continent.  From  their  hovel  on  the  St.  Charles 
they  surveyed  a  field  of  labor  whose  vastness 
might  tire  the  wings  of  thought  itself;  a  scene 
repellant  and  appalling,  darkened  with  omens 
of  peril  and  woe.  They  were  an  advance-guard 
of  the  great  army  of  Loyola,  strong  in  discipline 
that  controlled  not  alone  the  body  and  the  will, 
but  the  intellect,  the  heart,  the  soul  and  the  in 
most  consciousness.  The  lives  of  these  early 
Canadian  Jesuits  attest  the  earnestness  of  their 
faith  and  the  intensity  of  their  zeal." 

Before  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  in  1713,  which 
resulted  in  the  cession  of  all  of  Acadia  by  the 
French  Government  to  England,  the  present 
Nova  Scotia,  New  Brunswick  and  at  least  all  of 
that  part  of  Maine  that  was  east  of  the  Kenne- 
bec  River  were  collectively  called  Acadia. 

Article  XII  of  this  treaty  declared  that  the 
most  Christian  King  of  France  ceded  to  the 
Queen  of  England  in  perpetuity  Acadia  or  Nova 
Scotia  entire,  "  according  to  its  ancient  bounda 
ries,"  etc. 

No    one   concerned   in  the    making  of  this 


treaty  appears  to  have  had  any  intelligent  con 
ception  of  what  the  "  ancient  boundaries  "  of 
Acadia  were,  and  from  the  indefiniteness  regard 
ing  them  disputed  questions  of  boundary  im 
mediately  arose.  The  two  governments  once 
agreed  to  settle  the  contentions  by  commis 
sioners  of  the  two  powers,  but  their  meetings 
were  delayed  from  time  to  time  for  forty  years, 
and  then  their  discussion  ended  in  the  Seven 
Years*  War. 

Parkman  alleges  that  the  claims  of  the  rival 
nations  were  so  discordant  that  any  attempt  to 
reconcile  them  "must  needs  produce  a  fresh 
quarrel." 

Thus  it  appeared  that  neither  the  treaty  of 
Utrecht  or  of  Ryswick  (1697)  resulted  in  any 
permanent  adjustment  of  what  was  to  the  Bour- 
born  world  of  manifest  insignificance,  and  yet 
what  was  to  both  the  subjects  of  England  and 
of  France  in  Acadia  of  the  utmost  importance, 
namely,  where  upon  the  face  of  the  earth  was 
really  the  boundary  line  between  the  English 
and  French  possessions  under  these  treaties. 

There  was  absolute  certainty  as  to  one  fact 
only,  and  that  was  that  Acadia  had  passed  to  the 
English.  But  what  constituted  Acadia?  The 


[  '91 

whole  question  turned  upon  what  were  its  "  an 
cient  boundaries." 

It  would  have  been  difficult  to  have  conceived 
of  a  description  more  obscure  or  more  pregnant 
with  causes  for  strife  and  misunderstanding. 

Under  the  treaty  of  Ryswick  the  courts  of 
both  governments  had  claimed  all  of  the  terri 
tory  between  the  Sagadahoc  and  the  St.  Croix. 

Charles  C.  D.  Roberts,  in  his  "  History  of 
Canada"  (1897),  in  speaking  of  this  period 
says  :  — 

"  Amid  the  icy  desolation  of  Hudson  Bay 
and  about  the  austere  coasts  of  Newfoundland, 
France  and  England  were  at  each  other's  throats ; 
while  along  between  New  England  and  Acadia 
was  a  line  of  blood  and  fire.  The  French  claimed 
the  line  of  the  Kennebec  as  the  western  line  of 
Acadia;"  and  that  "The  New  Englanders 
claimed  that  Acadia's  western  border  was  the 
St.  Croix,  which  now  divides  New  Brunswick 
from  Maine." 

New  England  writers  have  generally  conceded 
that  the  English  made  many  promises  to  the 
Indians  which  were  ruthlessly  broken,  and  when 
news  came  to  the  red  men  that  the  Governor  of 
New  France  had,  by  treaty  with  the  English, 


[  ^o] 

surrendered  his  right  to  protection  over  them, 
the  Indians  of  Norridgewock  having  heard  of 
these  rumors  and  also  beholding  the  English 
building  forts  and  encroaching  upon  their  lands, 
despatched  deputies  to  the  Marquis  de  Vau- 
dreuil,  Governor  of  Canada,  to  ascertain  from 
him  whether  it  was  true  that  the  King  of  France 
had  disposed  in  favor  of  the  Queen  of  England 
of  a  country  of  which  they  claimed  to  be  the 
sole  masters. 

The  Governor-General's  reply  was  that  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht  did  not  mention  their  country, 
and  this  satisfied  them. 

Williamson  and  other  English  writers  are  in 
accord  with  Charlevoix  regarding  the  fact  that 
these  representatives  from  the  Norridgewock 
tribe  made  this  visit  to  Vaudreuil  for  this  pur 
pose. 

After  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  the  Kennebec 
River  was  generally  claimed  by  the  French  to 
be  the  dividing  line  between  their  possessions 
and  New  England,  and  they  were  guarded  by 
the  French  and  their  adherents  with  watchful 
care  and  jealousy  ;  so  during  much  of  the  half- 
century  of  conflict  so  comprehensively  treated 
in  Parkman's  history  of  this  period,  and  what 


Julian  Hawthorne  in  his  "  History  of  the 
United  States  "  describes  as  "fifty  years  of  fools 
and  heroes,"  a  large  part  of  what  is  now  the 
State  of  Maine  was  territory  about  which  there 
was  great  strife  and  contention  as  to  title  and 
ownership.  Besides  these  larger  contentions 
there  were  many  minor  ones  of  a  local  nature 
between  the  settlers  and  the  Indians  which  re 
lated  to  the  titles  of  the  home  possessions  of 
some  of  the  white  men,  the  Indians  often  claim 
ing  that  they  were  cheated  and  defrauded  by  the 
English,  who  obtained  some  of  their  alleged  hold 
ings  from  their  chiefs  when  they  were  in  a  state 
of  intoxication  caused  by  the  purchasers  them 
selves  ;  that  they  frequently  acquired  these  titles 
for  mere  trifles,  such  as  a  bottle  of  brandy,  etc. 

One  of  the  complaints  the  Indians  made 
against  the  English,  Charlevoix  says,  was  the 
wanton  killing  of  their  dogs,  "  dearer  to  them 
than  the  oxen  of  the  English." 

One  of  the  most  important  Jesuit  outposts 
was  the  Kennebec  mission,  which  was  estab 
lished  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen 
tury  and  which  was  destined  to  be  the  storm- 
centre  of  warring  factions  and  the  scene  of  a 
bloody  and  cruel  tragedy. 


[20] 

surrendered  his  right  to  protection  over  them, 
the  Indians  of  Norridgewock  having  heard  of 
these  rumors  and  also  beholding  the  English 
building  forts  and  encroaching  upon  their  lands, 
despatched  deputies  to  the  Marquis  de  Vau- 
dreuil,  Governor  of  Canada,  to  ascertain  from 
him  whether  it  was  true  that  the  King  of  France 
had  disposed  in  favor  of  the  Queen  of  England 
of  a  country  of  which  they  claimed  to  be  the 
sole  masters. 

The  Governor-General's  reply  was  that  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht  did  not  mention  their  country, 
and  this  satisfied  them. 

Williamson  and  other  English  writers  are  in 
accord  with  Charlevoix  regarding  the  fact  that 
these  representatives  from  the  Norridgewock 
tribe  made  this  visit  to  Vaudreuil  for  this  pur 
pose. 

After  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  the  Kennebec 
River  was  generally  claimed  by  the  French  to 
be  the  dividing  line  between  their  possessions 
and  New  England,  and  they  were  guarded  by 
the  French  and  their  adherents  with  watchful 
care  and  jealousy ;  so  during  much  of  the  half- 
century  of  conflict  so  comprehensively  treated 
in  Parkman's  history  of  this  period,  and  what 


[21    ] 

Julian  Hawthorne  in  his  "  History  of  the 
United  States  "  describes  as  "fifty  years  of  fools 
and  heroes,"  a  large  part  of  what  is  now  the 
State  of  Maine  was  territory  about  which  there 
was  great  strife  and  contention  as  to  title  and 
ownership.  Besides  these  larger  contentions 
there  were  many  minor  ones  of  a  local  nature 
between  the  settlers  and  the  Indians  which  re 
lated  to  the  titles  of  the  home  possessions  of 
some  of  the  white  men,  the  Indians  often  claim 
ing  that  they  were  cheated  and  defrauded  by  the 
English,  who  obtained  some  of  their  alleged  hold 
ings  from  their  chiefs  when  they  were  in  a  state 
of  intoxication  caused  by  the  purchasers  them 
selves  ;  that  they  frequently  acquired  these  titles 
for  mere  trifles,  such  as  a  bottle  of  brandy,  etc. 

One  of  the  complaints  the  Indians  made 
against  the  English,  Charlevoix  says,  was  the 
wanton  killing  of  their  dogs,  "  dearer  to  them 
than  the  oxen  of  the  English." 

One  of  the  most  important  Jesuit  outposts 
was  the  Kennebec  mission,  which  was  estab 
lished  about  the  middle  of  the  seventeenth  cen 
tury  and  which  was  destined  to  be  the  storm- 
centre  of  warring  factions  and  the  scene  of  a 
bloody  and  cruel  tragedy. 


In  1694,  Sebastian  Rale  was  recalled  from  a 
station  among  the  Illinois  Indians  to  take  full 
charge  of  this  mission,  which  for  a  long  time 
had  been  located  at  Naurontsouk,  now  the  town 
of  Norridgewock.  Rale  was  born  in  Pontarlier— 
Doubs  (formerly  a  part  of  Franche-Compte) 
January  4,  1657.  He  was  educated  by  the  Jes 
uits  and  entered  the  order  at  Dole,  September 
24,  1675. 

In  1689  he  was  sent  to  the  American  Mis 
sion,  and  arrived  at  Quebec  on  the  thirteenth 
day  of  October  of  that  year.  His  first  mission 
was  among  the  Abenaki  Indians,  that  is,  "  men 
of  the  east,"  a  name  once  applied  to  all  of  the 
Indians  of  the  eastern  coast  of  the  American 
continent,  but  later  restricted  to  the  tribes  in 
habiting  a  part  of  Canada,  Nova  Scotia  and 
Acadia.  He  had  been  nearly  two  years  among 
the  Abenakis  when  he  was  ordered  to  the  Illi 
nois  River.  The  journey  was  a  perilous  and 
cheerless  one,  but  he  met  it  with  a  fortitude 
characteristic  of  the  Jesuit  fathers.  Before  start 
ing  upon  the  journey  he  spent  three  months  at 
Quebec,  studying  the  language  of  the  Algon- 
quins.  In  about  two  years  he  was  ordered  back, 
as  before  stated,  to  the  Abenaki  country  and 


[    23    ] 

the  Norridgewock  mission  assigned  to  him, 
where  he  remained  continuously  until  the  time 
of  his  death.  We  may  indulge  in  feelings  of 
pride  that  the  Anglo-Saxon  has  for  many  cen 
turies  been  at  the  head  of  the  procession  in  the 
march  of  civilization ;  yet  his  errors  have  not 
been  few,  and  one  of  his  gravest  has  been  his 
dealings  with  the  American  Indian.  With  a  few 
exceptions,  notably  that  of  William  Penn,  the 
Quaker  founder  of  the  great  commonwealth  of 
Pennsylvania,  and  John  Eliot,  a  Protestant  min 
ister  in  Massachusetts  in  the  seventeenth  cen 
tury,  who  was  known  as  "  Apostle  of  the  In 
dians,"  Jonathan  Edwards,  and  possibly  a  few 
others,  the  Anglo-Saxon's  record  in  this  respect 
is  generally  one  of  failure  and  too  often  one  of 
selfish  greed,  treachery  and  cruelty. 

My  admiration  for  the  stanch  and  noble  qual 
ities  of  the  settlers  of  New  England  and  for  the 
grand  foundation  which  they  laid  for  the  erec 
tion  of  a  great  empire  of  intelligence  and  liberty 
is  exceeded  by  none.  I  would  not  detract  one 
atom  from  all  that  the  world  owes  them.  But 
when  one  studies  their  relations  with  the  Indi 
ans  of  North  America  he  can  but  appreciate  the 
facetious  remark  once  made  by  a  noted  son  of  \  \ 


Massachusetts,  William  M.  Evarts,  when  he 
said,  "  The  Pilgrim  Fathers  were  good  men,  and 
when  they  landed  at  Plymouth  Rock  they 
praised  God,  —  that  is,  they  fell  on  their  knees, 
then  they  fell  on  the  aborigines." 

That  the  Jesuits  were  far  more  successful  in 
securing  and  holding  the  confidence  of  the  In 
dians,  and  by  their  methods  making  them  loyal 
and  faithful  friends,  cannot  be  denied  by  the 
candid  student  of  history. 

Among  all  the  devoted  followers  of  Loyola 
in  North  America  no  one  has  achieved  greater 
fame  in  this  respect  than  has  Father  Rale. 

He  became  familiar  with  several  Indian  dia 
lects  and  understood  the  language  as  well  as  he 
did  French  or  Latin.  It  was  only  by  the  most 
persistent  effort  that  he  acquired  this  accom 
plishment. 

During  the  years  when  he  was  learning  the 
Indian  language  he  spent  a  part  of  each  year  in 
the  wigwams  of  the  Indians  in  order  to  catch 
from  their  lips  the  peculiarities  of  their  speech. 
It  necessarily  required  the  closest  attention  to 
distinguish  the  combinations  of  sound  and  to 
perceive  their  meaning.  This  knowledge  of 
their  language  gave  him  an  advantage  with  the 


[as] 

savage  which  but  few  other  teachers  or  mission 
aries  possessed. 

He  lived  with  them  as  a  tribesman  and  be 
came  one  of  them  in  all  of  their  interests,  wants 
and  sympathies.  He  was  brother,  counsellor 
and  friend  and  won  their  sincere  confidence. 
As  a  result  they  loved  him  warmly,  and  amidst 
all  of  the  violent  caprice  of  the  savage  character, 
their  affection  for  him  seems  never  to  have 
wavered.  Just  as  the  people  of  Canada  in  our 
day  magnified  the  contentions,  now  happily 
settled  for  all  time,  between  themselves  and  the 
government  at  Washington  regarding  the  Alas 
kan  and  other  controversies,  and  viewed  them 
much  more  seriously  than  did  the  Crown  author 
ities  ;  so  in  the  seventeenth  and  eighteenth  cen 
turies  the  people  of  New  England  naturally 
made  more  fuss  over,  and  regarded  as  much 
more  momentous,  all  of  the  questions  of  bound 
ary  lines  between  New  England  and  Acadia 
than  did  the  English  government  itself.  The 
local  strifes  between  the  inhabitants  of  New 
France  and  New  England,  which  were  ever  alive, 
and  the  continual  outbreaks  of  hostilities  be 
tween  the  parent  countries,  which  would  always 
involve  the  respective  colonies,  made  it  a  period 


[a6] 

of  tragedy  and  atrocious  scenes  which  sickens 
the  heart  to  contemplate. 

Maine's  geographical  situation,  as  has  been 
observed,  was  such  as  to  make  it  the  dark  and 
bloody  ground  of  these  struggles. 

From  1700  to  1713,  the  war,  called  by  some 
writers  "  Queen  Anne's  war,"  but  what  was 
really  the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession,  raged 
and  was  one  of  the  most  inhuman  and  devasta 
ting  of  all  of  these  contests  between  the  pio 
neers  of  France  and  England  in  Maine  ;  and  we, 
in  our  comfortable  environments  of  to-day,  can 
not  imagine  the  sufferings,  privations  and  hard 
ships  endured  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  District 
of  Maine  at  that  time,  which  were  caused  by 
these  wars. 

One  of  the  causes  of  this  war  was,  that,  in 
1701,  James  II,  the  exiled  king  of  Great  Britain, 
died  at  the  court  of  Louis,  and  the  king  of 
France  had,  in  violation  of  the  treaty  of  Rys- 
wick,  recognized  the  son  of  James  as  the  right 
ful  sovereign  of  England. 

Another,  and  probably  the  greater  one,  was 
that,  in  the  year  1700,  Charles  II  of  Spain  died, 
having  named  as  his  successor  Philip  of  Anjou, 
a  grandson  of  Louis  XIV.  This  aroused  the 


jealousy  of  all  Europe,  as  it  pointed  to  a  union 
of  France  and  Spain.  The  result  was  that  an 
alliance  was  formed  between  England,  Holland 
and  Austria.  The  war  soon  extended  to  the 
colonies,  although  none  were  greatly  affected, 
outside  of  New  England,  except  South  Caro 
lina. 

The  English  made  an  attempt  to  enter  into 
a  compact  with  all  of  the  Indian  tribes  to  hold 
aloof  and  maintain  neutrality  between  the  con 
tending  forces.  This  was  generally  successful 
except  with  the  Abenakis  of  Maine.  The  Jes 
uit  missionaries,  of  course,  favored  the  French 
and  succeeded  in  preventing  the  Indians  from 
either  remaining  neutral  or  espousing  the  Eng 
lish  cause. 

In  1698,  Rale  and  his  converted  Indians,  by 
the  assistance  of  his  superior  in  Quebec,  had 
built  a  chapel  at  Norridgewock,  and  had  erected 
simple  and  comfortable  houses,  and  a  settlement 
of  civilization  was  well  under  way.  Religious 
bigotry  and  intolerance,  however,  ran  riot  under 
the  banners  of  both  Loyola  and  John  Calvin. 
Three  expeditions,  as  will  be  seen,  were  made 
against  Norridgewock,  the  first  two  proving  un 
successful. 


[30] 

"  the  country  appeared  like  a  frozen  lake." 
When  Hilton  and  his  troops  arrived  at  Nor- 
ridgewock  they  found  only  a  "  deserted  vil- 
lage." 

These  soldiers  set  fire  to  "  the  large  chapel 
with  a  vestry  at  the  end  of  it,"  and  the  wig 
wams  and  homes  of  the  Indians  were  utterly 
destroyed.  Whether  they  had  received  warning 
of  the  approach  of  the  Hilton  party,  which 
seems  very  probable,  or  whether,  as  Rale  after 
wards  asserted,  they  happened  to  go  there 
"when  the  Indians  were  absent  from  the  vil 
lage,"  has  never  been  fully  settled. 

The  Priest  returned  to  mourn  over  the  smok 
ing  ruins  of  the  sanctuary,  and  soon  entered 
upon  thetaskof  rebuilding  the  churchand village. 

Rale's  account  is,  that  for  this  purpose  some 
of  his  chiefs  went  to  Boston,  it  being  much 
nearer  than  Quebec,  to  procure  workmen  ;  that 
the  governor  received  them  with  a  great  show 
of  friendship  and  offered  to  rebuild  at  the  ex 
pense  of  Massachusetts,  if  they  would  dismiss 
their  French  priest  and  take  an  English  minis 
ter  in  his  place  ;  that  the  Indians  rejected  this 
offer  with  scorn  and  said  :  "  Keep  your  work 
men,  your  money  and  your  minister ;  we  will 


[33  ] 

go  to  our  father,  the  French  governor,  for  what 
we  want." 

Francis,  in  his  life  of  Rale,  does  not  find  any 
other  authority  than  Rale's  for  this  application 
to  the  Governor  of  Massachusetts. 

Rale's  statement  is  that  the  church  was  erected 
by  the  aid  of  the  French  governor ;  yet  Hut- 
chinson,  in  1724,  asserted  that  it  "had  been 
built  a  few  years  before  by  carpenters  from  New 
England." 

But,  however  obscure  the  fact  may  be  in  re 
lation  to  who  rendered  assistance  in  restoring 
the  mission,  a  new  church  was  erected  and  a 
beautiful  village  sprang  up  upon  the  ruins  of 
what  was  burned  by  Colonel  Hilton.  Within 
the  limits  of  the  present  peaceful  town  of  Nor- 
ridgewock,  the  Kennebec  curved  around  a  piece 
of  meadow  land  surrounded  by  picturesque 
hills  of  forestry.  On  this  meadow,  on  ground 
a  few  feet  above  the  common  level,  stood  the 
village  of  N  orridgewock,  fenced  with  a  stockade 
of  logs  nine  feet  high.  The  enclosure  was 
square,  each  of  its  four  sides  measured  one  hun 
dred  and  sixty  feet,  and  each  had  its  gate. 

From  the  four  gates  ran  two  streets  or  lanes 
which  crossed  each  other  in  the  middle  of  the 
village. 


[34] 

There  were  twenty-six  Indian  houses  or  cab 
ins  within  the  stockade,  described  as  "  built  after 
the  English  manner/'  though  constructed  of 
logs,  round  and  hewn.  The  church  was  outside 
the  enclosure,  about  twenty  paces  from  the  east 
gate. 

A  small  bell,  now  preserved  by  the  Maine 
Historical  Society  at  Portland,  rang  for  mass  in 
the  early  dawn,  and  for  vespers  when  the  sun 
was  sinking  among  the  wilderness  hills. 

Rale  had  but  little  time  for  leisure  or  recre 
ation.  His  hours  were  mostly  spent  in  the 
duties  of  his  priestly  office. 

Parkman  says  of  him  :  "  He  preached,  ex 
horted,  catechised  the  young  converts,  coun 
selled  the  seniors  for  this  world  and  the  next, 
nursed  them  in  sickness,  composed  their  quar 
rels,  tilled  his  own  garden,  cut  his  own  firewood, 
cooked  his  own  food,  which  was  of  Indian  corn, 
or,  at  a  pinch,  of  roots  and  acorns."  When  not 
thus  occupied  he  worked  on  his  Abenaki  Vo 
cabulary  and  was  preparing  an  Indian  Dictionary 
at  the  time  of  his  death.  Twice  a  year,  summer 
and  winter,  he  followed  his  flock  to  the  sea 
shore,  where  they  lived  at  their  ease  during 
short  vacations,  on  fish  and  seals,  clams,  oysters 


[35  ] 

and  sea-fowl.  He  was  a  skilful  worker  of  wood, 
and  with  his  own  hands  carved  many  ornaments 
for  his  church  and  chapels.  He  also  found  in 
the  woods  a  species  of  laurel,  called  bayberry, 
from  which  he  made  a  wax,  which,  mixed  with 
tallow,  made  excellent  candles  for  his  altars. 

He  organized  among  the  young  men  of  the 
tribe  a  company  of  assisting  clergy.  About  forty 
of  his  young  converts,  arrayed  in  cassocks  and 
surplices,  officiated  at  the  sacrifice  of  the  mass, 
at  the  chants  and  in  the  processions  on  holy 
days.  At  short  distances  from  the  village,  the 
Indians  built  two  small  chapels,  one  dedicated 
to  the  Virgin,  the  other  to  the  Guardian  Angel. 
The  chapels  were  near  the  paths  by  which  they 
went  to  the  woods  or  the  fields,  and  Francis 
says,  "  They  never  passed  them  without  offering 
their  devotions." 

Whittier,  in  Mogg  Megone,  has  immortalized 
this  scene  of  worship  in  "  God's  first  temples," 
as  follows  : 

"  On  the  brow  of  a  hill  which  slopes  to  meet 
The  flowing  river  and  bathe  its  feet  — 
The  bare-washed  and  drooping  grass, 
And  the  creeping  vine,  as  the  waters  pass  — 
A  rude,  unshapely  chapel  stands, 


[36] 

Built  up  in  that  wild  by  unskillful  hands  ; 
Yet  the  traveller  knows  it's  a  place  of  prayer, 
For  the  holy  sign  of  the  cross  is  there  ; 
And  should  he  chance  at  that  place  to  be, 
Of  a  Sabbath  morn,  or  some  hallowed  day, 
When  prayers  are  made  and  masses  said, 
Some  for  the  living  and  some  for  the  dead, 
Well  might  that  traveller  start  to  see 
The  tall  dark  forms  that  take  their  way 
From  the  birch  canoe  on  the  river  shore, 
And  the  forest  paths  to  that  chapel  door ; 
And  marvel  to  mark  the  naked  knees 
And  the  dusky  foreheads  bending  there, 
And,  stretching  his  long,  thin  arms  over  these 
In  blessing  and  in  prayer, 
Like  a  shrouded  spectre,  pale  and  tall, 
In  his  coarse  white  vesture,  Father  Rale." 

Rale  claims  that  in  1721,  the  government  of 
Massachusetts  offered  a  reward  of  a  thousand 
pounds  sterling  for  his  head.  Parkman  denies 
this,  but  there  is  ample  proof  that  a  sum  was 
thus  offered.  In  the  records  of  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  appears  a  resolve  that 
was  passed  July  13,  1720,  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  that  a  premium  of  one  hundred 
pounds  be  allowed  and  paid  out  of  the  Public 
Treasury  to  any  person  that  shall  apprehend 


[37  ] 

the  said  Jesuit  within  any  part  of  this  Province 
and  bring  him  to  Boston  and  render  him  to 
Justice/' 

All  branches  of  the  government  joined  in 
sending  three  hundred  men  to  Norridgewock, 
with  a  demand  that  the  Indians  should  give 
up  Rale  "  and  the  other  heads  and  fomenters 
of  their  rebellion."  In  case  of  refusal  they 
were  to  seize  the  Jesuit  and  the  principal  chiefs 
and  bring  them  prisoners  to  Boston.  In  obe 
dience  to  these  orders,  Colonel  Westbrook 
made  an  expedition  ;  but  Rale  had  timely  warn 
ing  of  it,  and,  swallowing  the  consecrated  wafers 
and  hiding  the  sacred  vessels,  fled  to  the  woods 
and  was  thus  again  saved  from  discovery. 
Westbrook  found  papers  in  Rale's  strong  box 
which  proved  that  Rale  had  acted  more  or  less 
under  the  orders  of  the  Canadian  authorities, 
and  which  subsequent  writers  have  denominated 
as  "  treason  "  on  his  part. 

Finally,  in  1724,  under  Governor  Dummer, 
the  Massachusetts  government  was  united  in  a 
determination  to  seize  or  kill  Rale  and  extermi 
nate  Norridgewock.  Without  considering  the 
immediate  causes  which  led  up  to  the  last  and 
fatal  expedition  against  Rale  and  his  brave  and 


[38  ] 

faithful  followers,  suffice  it  to  say  that  a  body 
of  men  under  Captains  Harmon,  Moulton  and 
Brown  and  Lieutenant  Bean,  set  out  from  Fort 
Richmond  in  whaleboats  on  the  eighth  day  of 
August  of  that  year.  They  left  the  boats  at 
Ticonic  Falls  in  charge  of  a  Lieutenant  and  a 
squad  of  men,  and,  accompanied  by  three  Mo 
hawk  Indians  as  guides,  marched  through  the 
forest  for  Norridgewock.  Towards  evening 
they  saw  two  squaws,  one  of  whom  they  brutally 
shot  and  captured  the  other,  who  proved  to  be 
the  wife  of  the  noted  chief  Bomazeen.  She  gave 
them  a  full  account  of  the  condition  of  the  vil 
lage,  which  they  approached  early  in  the  after 
noon  of  the  2jd.  As  to  the  number  of  men 
under  Captain  Harmon  and  his  associates,  there 
seems  to  be  much  doubt.  Chasse  and  Charle- 
voix  placed  it  at  eleven  hundred  white  men  and 
Indians,*  while  the  English  authorities  have 
stated  that  there  were  only  two  hundred  and 
eighty  men  under  Harmon,  Moulton,  Brown 
and  Bean.  Charlevoix  says  that  the  English 
stealthily  crept  through  the  thick  woods  sur 
rounding  the  village,  and  the  inhabitants  knew 

*  In  the  latest  edition  of  Charlevoix  the  editor  admits  that 
this  is  an  error  as  to  the  number  of  men. 


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nothing  of  their  approach  until  it  was  announced 
by  a  general  discharge  of  fire-arms  which  sent 
their  shot  through  the  wigwams. 

It  was  a  complete  surprise  to  the  dusky  in 
habitants  of  the  little  forest  village  and  they 
easily  fell  into  the  awful  death-trap  ruthlessly 
set  for  them  by  the  English  there  among  the 
pines  and  birches,  under  the  evergreens'  dark 
shade,  and  within  sound  of  the  joyous  rhythm  of 
the  waters  of  the  river  Kennebec. 

Only  fifty  warriors  were  in  the  village  at  the 
time.  They  seized  their  arms,  rushed  out,  with 
out  preparation,  for  a  fight,  not  hoping  to  de 
fend  the  place  against  a  foe  already  in  possession, 
but  to  protect  the  flight  of  their  wives,  children 
and  old  men.  Father  Rale,  who,  as  Charlevoix 
says,  was  apprized  of  the  peril  of  his  people  by 
the  shouts  and  tumult,  hastened  forth  fearlessly 
to  present  his  person  to  the  assailants,  in  the 
hope  of  attracting  their  attention  to  himself,  and 
thus  securing  his  flock  at  the  risk  of  his  own 
life.  La  Chasse  adds  another  motive,  which 
was  the  hope  of  delaying  by  his  presence  their 
first  attack.  His  expectation  was  realized.  No 
sooner  had  he  appeared  than  the  English  sent 
up  a  great  shout  which  was  followed  by  a  shower 


[4*  ] 

of  musket-shot.  He  fell  dead,  as  some  writers 
say,  near  a  cross  which  he  had  planted  in  the 
central  part  of  the  village.  Several  Indians  who 
had  gathered  about  him  to  protect  him  with 
their  bodies  were  slain  by  his  side.  Francis 
says  :  "  Thus  died  this  affectionate  pastor,  giv 
ing  his  life  for  the  sheep,  after  a  life  of  thirty- 
seven  years  of  suffering." 

This  is  substantially  the  French  version  of 
this  terrible  tragedy.  Francis  also  gives  the 
English  account  of  the  affair,  quoting  Hutchin- 
son,  who  gathered  his  information  from  the 
journal  of  one,  and  from  the  oral  statements  of 
another,  of  the  officers  who  led  the  forces  against 
Rale ;  also  the  statements  of  Penhallow,  who 
was  living  at  the  time,  and  a  brief  notice  in  the 
"  New  England  Courant,"  a  newspaper  printed 
in  Boston,  a  few  days  after  the  news  of  his  death 
and  the  destruction  of  his  followers  arrived  there. 
Summed  up,  the  English  account  does  not  dif 
fer  materially  from  that  of  the  French,  except 
in  regard  to  the  killing  of  Rale.  These  witnes 
ses  aver  that  Captain  Moulton  gave  orders  not 
to  kill  the  priest.  But  a  wound  inflicted  upon 
one  of  the  soldiers  by  Rale,  while  firing  from  a 
wigwam  where  he  was,  so  exasperated  Jaques,  a 


[43  ] 

lieutenant,  that  he  burst  open  a  door  and  shot 
Rale  through  the  head.  Jaques'  explanation  of 
this  deed  was,  that  when  he  broke  into  the  wig 
wam,  Rale  was  loading  his  gun,  and  declared 
"  that  he  would  not  give  or  take  quarter." 
Francis,  in  speaking  of  this,  observes:  "How 
little  confidence  can  be  placed  in  this  statement 
of  the  lieutenant  we  learn  from  the  fact  that, 
according  to  Hutchinson,  Moulton  himself 
doubted  its  truth  at  the  time." 

The  following  is  Charlevoix's  description  of 
the  death  of  Rale :  "  They  found  him  pierced 
with  a  thousand  shots,  his  scalp  torn  off,  his 
skull  crushed  by  hatchets,  his  mouth  and  eyes 
full  of  mud,  his  leg-bone  broken  and  all  of  his 
members  mutilated  in  a  hundred  different  ways. 
Thus  was  a  priest  treated  in  his  mission  at  the 
foot  of  the  cross,  by  those  very  men  who  on  all 
occasions  exaggerate  so  greatly  the  pretended 
inhumanities  of  our  Indians,  who  have  never 
been  seen  to  use  violence  to  the  dead  bodies  of 
their  enemies.  After  the  neophytes  had  raised 
up  and  repeatedly  kissed  the  precious  remains 
of  the  Father,  tenderly  and  so  justly  beloved, 
they  buried  him  on  the  very  spot  where,  the 
day  before,  he  had  celebrated  the  holy  myster- 


[44] 

ies;  that  is  to  say,  on  the  spot  where  the  altar 
stood  before  the  church  was  burned." 

Some  of  the  New  England  writers  have  raised 
doubts  as  to  the  truth  of  the  statements  regard 
ing  the  mutilation  of  Rale's  body.  Their  con 
tention  has  been  that  Charlevoix  must  neces 
sarily  have  obtained  his  information  from  the 
surviving  Indians,  and  that,  as  a  rule,  their 
statements  were  unreliable.  There  cannot,  how 
ever,  be  any  doubt  but  what  his  murderers  took 
his  scalp  and  carried  it  in  triumph  to  Boston. 

In  the  first  place  they  had  a  great  incentive 
to  do  this.  The  Massachusetts  government  paid 
liberal  rewards  for  the  scalps  of  their  enemies  in 
the  French  and  Indian  wars. 

Penhallow  (page  48)  says :  "  The  Colonial 
rewards  for  scalps  made  it  too  rich  a  trophy  to 
leave.  A  volunteer  without  pay  got  fifty  pounds 
for  a  scalp ;  if  in  service,  twenty ;  while  regu 
lars  got  ten." 

William  Allen's  History  of  Norridgewock, 
page  41,  quoting  from  a  manuscript  in  the  hand 
writing  of  Rev.  William  Holmes,  under  date 
of  August  30,  1724,  says,  in  describing  the 
"  battle,"  but  what  was  really  a  massacre,  when 
Norridgewock  was  overwhelmed  and  Rale 


[45  ] 

killed :  "  The  scalps  of  twenty-eight  of  them 
were  brought  to  Boston  ;  of  which  number  their 
priest's  and  Bomazeen's  were  two." 

Williamson  also  refers  to  this  as  follows : 
"Harmon,  who  was  senior  in  command,  pro 
ceeded  to  Boston  with  the  scalps,  and  received 
in  reward  for  the  achievement  the  commission 
of  Lieutenant  Colonel." 

When  Captain  Harmon  returned  to  Boston 
he  made  "  solemn  oath  "  that  one  of  the  twen 
ty-eight  scalps  which  he  produced  at  a  council, 
held  at  the  Council  Chamber  in  Boston,  was 
that  of  "  Sebastian  Ralle,  a  Jesuit."  And  that 
twenty-seven  other  scalps  came  from  the  heads 
of  "rebel  or  enemy  Indians,  which  were  slain  at 
Norridgewock." 

After  killing  Rale  and  as  many  of  the  inhab 
itants  of  the  little  village  as  possible,  the  victo 
rious  party  at  once  commenced  their  march 
toward  the  sea.  The  Puritan  militia  thought  it 
a  meritorious  act  to  destroy  what  they  called  the 
"idols"  in  the  church  and  carry  off  the  sacred 
vessels ;  but  the  church  itself  and  all  of  the 
buildings  within  the  village  were  not  fired  until 
after  the  march  homeward  was  begun,  when, 
Francis  says,  cc  one  of  the  Mohawks  was  sent, 


[46] 

or  voluntarily  returned,  to  fire  the  wigwams  and 
the  church,  and  then  rejoined  the  company." 

Thus  ended  the  proud  Norridgewock  tribe ; 
for,  although  it  was  not  entirely  obliterated  from 
the  earth,  it  passed  out  on  that  lurid  day  from 
its  place  among  the  nations  of  the  red  men. 
At  the  same  time  all  of  the  hopes,  all  of  the 
strivings,  yearnings  and  aspirations  and  lofty 
ideals  of  a  great  soul,  having  only  one  purpose 
in  view,  living  for  that  only  —  who  in  the  light 
of  to-day  would  be  a  fanatic  —  whose  life's  path 
way  had  so  oft  been  obscured  by  the  wild 
storm-clouds,  were  in  the  grave,  forever  buried 
with  all  that  was  earthly  of  Sebastian  Rale. 

That  he  exercised  wisdom  or  ordinary  dis 
cretion  in  so  long  remaining  where  he  believed 
his  God  had  stationed  him,  might  well  be 
doubted.  One  less  sincere,  one  less  ascetic,  one 
more  worldly,  would  have  realized  that  he  must 
eventually  be  overwhelmed  by  the  forces  ar 
rayed  against  him,  which  were  increasing  in 
power  and  strength  while  his  were  declining; 
that  he  was  fighting  for  a  "  lost  cause  "  and  that 
defeat  was  inevitable.  But  he  beheld  everything 
in  the  halo  of  his  own  conception  of  what  was 
righteous,  what  was  just,  and  its  glitter  blinded 


[47  ] 

his  eyes  and  he  was  unable  to  see  clearly  either 
fairness  in  the  claims  of  those  who  were  oppos 
ing  him  or  his  own  imminent  danger.  Some  of 
the  French  writers  say  that  his  superior  and 
other  friends  in  Canada,  during  the  last  months 
of  his  life,  warned  him  of  the  perils  which  beset 
him  and  urged  him  to  abandon  his  post ;  but 
that  he  scorned  all  such  advice  and  deliberately 
elected  to  be  a  martyr.  Francis,  in  speaking  of 
this  event,  said :  "  Another  sad  chapter  was 
added  to  the  history  of  the  white  man's  inter 
course  with  his  forest  brother." 

u  No  wigwam's  smoke  is  curling  there ; 
The  very  earth  is  scorched  and  bare  ; 
And  they  pause  and  listen  to  catch  a  sound 
Of  breathing  life,  but  there  comes  not  one, 
Save  the  foxes'  bark  and  the  rabbits'  bound." 

From  a  careful  study  of  all  of  the  authorities 
relating  to  this  subject,  including  the  exhaustive 
work  of  James  Phinney  Baxter,  "The  Pioneers 
of  New  France  in  New  England,"  which  is  by 
far  the  ablest  defence  of  the  English  at  Nor- 
ridgewock  that  has  ever  been  made,  and  the 
strongest  indictment  against  Rale  that  any  one 
has  ever  drawn,  I  am  convinced  of  the  fact  that 


[48  ] 

Rale  acted  so  far  as  he  was  capable  in  the  inter 
est  of  his  own  government  as  well  as  of  his 
church,  believing  that  he  was  fully  justified  in 
so  doing.  Even  after  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  the 
French  claimed  all  that  part  of  Maine  which 
was  east  of  the  Kennebec  River,  and  that  was 
during  a  long  time  debated  territory ;  and  this 
treaty  left  the  whole  question  of  bounds  and 
ancient  limits  entirely  indefinite  and  open  to 
contention.  The  plan  was,  when  this  treaty  was 
ratified,  to  settle  the  matter  of  bounds  by  com 
missioners  of  the  two  powers,  as  has  already  been 
stated,  but  it  was  never  done.  This  disputed 
territory  was  therefore  a  bone  of  contention  be 
tween  the  inhabitants  of  the  two  provinces  un 
til  the  God  of  battles,  on  the  Plains  of  Abraham, 
wrested  the  whole  of  Acadia  from  the  French 
and  delivered  it  over  to  the  English.  A  century 
later  a  part  of  the  same  controversy  arose  be 
tween  Canada  and  the  State  of  Maine  in  relation 
to  our  northeastern  boundary,  and  the  English 
government  and  the  United  States  settled  it 
forever  by  the  famous  Ashburton  treaty. 

The  writers  who  have  espoused  the  cause  of 
the  English  in  the  assassination  of  Father  Rale, 
for  I  cannot  see  how  it  can  be  truthfully  de- 


[49  ] 

scribed  by  any  other  term,  have  seemed  to  over 
look  the  fact  that  his  settlement  and  mission 
were  on  territory  claimed  by  the  French ;  that 
it  was  his  duty  as  a  subject  of  the  king  of 
France  to  be  loyal  to  that  side  of  the  conten 
tion  ;  that  he  was  no  more  intensely  partisan  in 
striving  to  promote  the  interests  of  his  country 
than  were  Baxter,  Mather,  and  many  ministers 
of  the  Puritan  faith  who  were  equally  as  stead 
fast  to  the  English  cause  as  he  was  to  that  of 
the  French.  That  he  was  ever  loyal  to  the  in 
terests  of  his  government  and  his  church,  that 
he  watched  their  welfare  with  vigilance  and 
faithfulness  seldom  equalled,  is  undisputed  by 
any;  that  some  of  his  methods  of  supporting 
the  cause  to  which  his  life  was  pledged  were 
sometimes  questionable  and  even  deceptive,  I 
believe  is  in  evidence  which  cannot  be  fully  con 
tradicted  ;  but  I  also  believe  that  they  were  in 
harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  times  in  which 
he  lived,  when  men  regarded  a  human  life  of 
less  value  than  a  dogma,  and  that  he  was  no 
worse  than  many  of  his  contemporaries  within 
the  ranks  of  both  of  the  contending  forces. 
That  nearly  three  hundred  soldiers  acting  under 
the  least  semblance  of  military  discipline  could 


[  50] 

not  have  made  him  a  prisoner  and  taken  him  a 
captive  to  Boston  is  incredible.  If  this  could 
have  been  accomplished,  then  this  act  of  our 
forefathers  was  a  travesty  upon  civilized  war 
fare  and  a  black  spot  in  the  history  of  New 
England.  The  fate  of  the  Jesuit  was  undoubt 
edly  glad  news  to  many  of  the  Maine  settlers, 
who  believed  that  it  would  end  all  of  their 
troubles.  That  he  had  for  a  long  time  prior  to 
his  death  been  feared  and  hated  by  the  New 
Englanders  is  a  fact.  Parkman  says  that  while 
the  latter  ff  thought  him  a  devil,  he  passed  in 
Canada  for  a  martyred  saint "  ;  and  he  further 
adds  that  cc  he  was  neither  the  one  nor  the 
other,  but  a  man  with  qualities  and  faults  of  a 
man  —  fearless,  resolute,  enduring,  boastful, 
sarcastic,  often  bitter  and  irritating,  and  a  vehe 
ment  partisan/' 

Even  James  Phinney  Baxter  said  of  him, 
"  We  can  but  admire  the  calm  reliance  of  Rale 
upon  the  protection  of  a  higher  power,  and  his 
entire  devotion  to  what  he  considered  his  duty." 

Dr.  Convers  Francis,  to  whose  "  Life  of 
Rale  "  I  have  made  reference,  was  a  Unitarian 
clergyman  of  renown  in  his  day  and  a  graduate 
of  Harvard.  He  was  born  in  1795  and  died  in 


1863.  In  1842  he  was  appointed  to  the  Park- 
man  professorship  of  theology  in  Harvard  Col 
lege,  which  he  held  during  the  remainder  of  his 
life.  He  was  the  author  of  several  other  histor 
ical  and  biographical  works.  When  he  wrote  of 
Rale  he  had  canvassed  carefully  all  the  sources 
of  information  relating  to  his  career,  and  had 
before  him  substantially  what  Parkman,  Baxter 
and  subsequent  writers  have  had.  Documents 
and  papers  which  have  been  discovered  since 
Francis  wrote,  have  not  changed  materially  the 
facts.  Yet  Francis,  in  his  conclusion  as  to  the 
character  and  sincerity  of  purpose  of  Sebastian 
Rale  says  : 

"  But,  whatever  abatements  from  indiscrimi 
nate  praise  his  faults  or  frailties  may  require,  I 
cannot  review  his  history  without  receiving  a 
deep  impression  that  he  was  a  pious,  devoted 
and  extraordinary  man.  He  was  a  scholar  nur 
tured  amidst  European  learning,  and  accustomed 
to  the  refinements  of  the  Old  World,  who  ban 
ished  himself  from  the  pleasures  of  home  and 
from  the  attractions  of  his  native  land,  and 
passed  much  of  his  life  in  the  forest  of  an  un 
broken  wilderness,  on  a  distant  shore,  amidst 
the  squalid  rudeness  of  savage  life,  and  with  no 


[  52  ] 

companions,  during  those  long  years,  but  the 
wild  men  of  the  woods.  With  them  he  lived  as  a 
friend,  as  a  benefactor,  as  a  brother.  So  far  as  the 
patient  toils  of  missionary  and  love  for  the  dark 
ened  soul  of  the  Indian  are  concerned,  we  may 
place  the  names  of  Eliot  and  Rale  in  a  fellow 
ship,  which  they  indeed  would  both  haverejected, 
but  which  we  may  regard  as  hallowed  and  true." 
The  spot  where  the  Jesuit  of  Norridgewock 
fell  was  first  marked  by  a  plain  cross  which  was 
years  afterwards  destroyed  by  hunters.  The 
place  was  designated  in  various  ways  until  1833, 
when  a  movement  was  set  on  foot  to  erect  a 
permanent  monument  over  his  grave.  The  first 
suggestion  to  do  this,  it  is  said,  came  from  Dr. 
Jonathan  Sibley  of  Union,  Me.  The  project  was 
supported  by  both  Protestants  and  Catholics, 
Mr.  William  Allen  of  Norridgewock  and  Edward 
Kavanagh,  afterwards  governor  of  Maine,  being 
prominent  in  the  matter.  On  the  23d  day  of 
August,  1833,  which  was  the  anniversary  of  the 
Norridgewock  fight,  a  monument  was  erected 
which  stands  there  to-day.  Bishop  Fenwick  of 
Boston  had  charge  of  the  ceremonies  and  deliv 
ered  an  address.  Delegations  from  the  Penobscot, 
Passamaquoddy  and  Canada  tribes  were  present. 


THE  RALE  MONUMENT 
On  the  spot  where  he  was  killed  in  Norridgewock,  Me. 


THE  PORTSMOUTH  AND 
ARROWSIC  TREATIES 


The  Portsmouth  and 
Arrowsic  Treaties 


WHAT  is  known  in  the  history  of  New 
England  as  the  treaty  of  Portsmouth 
was  concluded   and    signed    between 
Governor  Walter   Barefoot  and   three   of  his 
Council  on  the  part  of  New  Hampshire,  and 
Francis   Hook  and  John   Davis,   two   of  the 
Provincial  Councillors  of  the  District  of  Maine, 
and  twelve  sagamores  and  chiefs  representing 
the  Penacook,  Saco,  Androscoggin  and  Kenne- 
bec  tribes,  on  the  eighth  day  of  September,  1685. 
The  terms  of  this  treaty  were  : 
First:  That  there  should  be  lasting  friend 
ship  between  the  English  and  the  Indians. 

Second :  That  if  either  harm  the  other,  the 
English  shall  be  tried  and  punished  by  a  Jus 
tice  of  the  Peace,  and  the  Indians  by  their  sag 
amore. 

57 


[  58  ] 

Third:  That  whenever  any  Indian  shall  man 
ifest  designs  of  mischief,  the  other  Indians  in 
habiting  these  provinces  shall  give  notice  to  the 
English  and  assist  them. 

Fourth :  That  all  the  tribes  while  in  friend 
ship  shall  be  protected  against  the  Mohawks. 

Fifth :  That  whenever  the  Indians  shall  re 
move  with  their  wives  and  children  without  giv 
ing  timely  notice  to  the  English,  they  may  be 
apprehended  or  war  made  upon  them,  till  the 
sagamores  render  satisfaction. 

These  conditions  did  not  bind  the  English  to 
anything  very  specific,  while  it  did  set  forth 
clearly  defined  limitations  for  the  conduct  of  the 
Indians;  but  the  Indians  believed,  as  it  would 
seem  rightfully,  that,  when  a  few  years  later  the 
English  began  to  erect  forts,  manifestly  for  hos 
tilities  against  them,  that  the  English  were 
breaking  the  spirit  if  not  the  letter  of  these 
treaty  obligations.  This  awakened  the  animos 
ity  of  the  tribes.  These  and  other  overt  acts  on 
the  part  of  both  the  English  and  Indians  soon 
stirred  up  a  flame  which  threatened  the  peace 
which  had  been  established  by  the  treaty  of 
Portsmouth,  and  in  1717  the  General  Court 
of  Massachusetts  became  alarmed  about  exist- 


[  59  ] 

ing  relations  with  the  Indians.  It  feared  the 
belligerent  attitude  which  they  were  assuming 
and  was  also  jealous  of  the  influence  which  Rale 
and  other  Jesuits  seemed  to  have. 

The  Indians  pledged  themselves  not  to  pur 
chase  any  goods  except  at  trading  houses  estab 
lished  by  the  English.  As  time  went  on,  the 
English  did  not  carry  out  their  part  of  the 
agreement.  No  trading  houses  were  established, 
no  shops  erected  for  the  repairing  of  their  tools 
and  arms,  as  had  been  agreed  upon.  The  In 
dians  complained  of  adventurers,  under  protec 
tion  of  the  English,  who  were  continually  cheat 
ing  and  defrauding  them. 

Naturally,  under  these  conditions,  they  pre 
ferred  the  French  to  the  English  to  trade  with. 
Instead  of  building  trading  houses,  the  English 
erected  forts,  which  intensified  the  suspicions  of 
the  Indians. 

Nearly  all  historians  agree  that  after  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht  (1713)  the  Indians  desired 
peace  with  the  English.  They  were  exhausted 
and  tired  of  war.  One  of  their  first  moves 
toward  establishing  friendly  relations  with  the 
English  was  to  send  leading  chiefs  and  saga 
mores  to  Casco. 


[6o] 

The  English  were  arrogant,  domineering  and 
dictatorial,  and  did  not  meet  them  in  a  fraternal 
spirit. 

Finally  the  English  and  the  Indians  met  at 
Arrowsic  in  August,  1717.  The  Governor  was 
haughty  in  manner  and  not  inclined  to  be  con 
ciliatory. 

He  presented  the  sachems  with  the  Bible,  in 
the  Indian  language,  and  said  to  them  :  "  This 
book  contains  the  true  religion.  Mr.  Baxter, 
who  has  accompanied  us,  will  remain  with  you, 
and  teach  you  its  principles." 

One  of  the  sagamores  promptly  replied,  cc  All 
people  have  their  own  religious  teachers.  Your 
Bible  we  do  not  care  to  keep.  God  has  given 
us  teachers.  Should  we  abandon  them,  we 
should  offend  God." 

The  chiefs  then  turned  to  the  political  ques 
tions  which  were  creating  trouble,  and  Abbot 
says  :  "In  the  conference  which  ensued  they 
showed  themselves  to  be  men  of  remarkable 
strength  of  mind  and  common  good  sense." 
Their  principal  speaker  said  :  "  We  admit  that 
the  land  west  of  the  Kennebec  River,  the  Eng 
lish  have  a  claim  to  regard  as  theirs ;  but  cer 
tainly  no  sale  has  ever  been  made  to  them  of 
the  country  east  of  that  river." 


[61  ] 

According  to  the  account  given  in  the  "Let- 
tres  Edifiantes  et  Curieuses  'ecrites  des  Missions 
Stranger  es,"  one  of  the  chiefs  gave  the  follow 
ing  answer  to  the  proposition  that  they  should 
dismiss  their  missionary  and  take  an  English 
man  in  his  stead  : 

"  You  astonish  me  by  the  proposition  you 
make.  When  you  first  came  here  you  saw  me 
a  long  time  before  I  saw  the  French,  but  neither 
you  nor  your  ministers  spoke  to  me  of  prayer, 
or  of  the  Great  Spirit.  They  saw  my  furs,  my 
skins  of  beaver  and  elk.  Of  these  only  they 
thought.  These  they  sought  with  the  greatest 
eagerness.  I  was  not  able  to  furnish  them 
enough.  When  I  carried  them  a  large  quantity, 
I  was  their  great  friend,  but  no  farther. 

"  One  day  my  canoe  having  missed  its  route, 
I  lost  my  way.  After  wandering  a  long  time  I 
landed  near  Quebec.  Scarcely  had  1  arrived 
when  one  of  the  Black  Robes  came  to  see  me. 
I  was  loaded  with  furs  ;  but  the  French  Black 
Robe  scarcely  deigned  to  look  at  them.  He 
spoke  to  me  at  once  of  the  Great  Spirit,  of 
heaven,  of  hell,  and  of  prayer,  which  is  the  on 
ly  way  to  reach  heaven. 

"  I  heard  him  with  pleasure,  and  remained  a 


[62    ] 

long  time  in  the  village  to  listen  to  him.  I  de 
manded  baptism  and  received  it.  At  last  I  re 
turned  to  my  country  and  related  what  had 
happened  to  me.  My  friends  envied  my  happi 
ness,  and  wished  to  participate.  They  departed 
to  find  the  Black  Robe,  and  demanded  of  him 
baptism.  It  is  thus  that  the  French  have  acted 
towards  me.  Thus  I  tell  you  that  I  hold  to  the 
prayer  of  the  French.  I  shall  be  faithful  to  it 
until  the  world  is  burned  up." 

The  result  of  these  negotiations  was  that  the 
treaty  of  Portsmouth  was  renewed  and  ratified 
by  an  exchange  of  wampum  and  other  presents, 
in  accordance  with  the  custom  of  those  days 
when  the  red  man  made  treaties  and  agreements 
with  his  pale-face  brother. 

The  unfairness  of  these  proceedings  is  appar 
ent  when  one  considers  how  little  the  Indians 
could  have  understood  or  comprehended  the 
legal  terms  of  the  treaty  of  Portsmouth. 

Hutchinson  and  other  writers  have  admitted 
that  the  treaty  could  not  have  been  morally 
binding  upon  the  Indians,  on  account  of  their 
ignorance  of  the  translation. 

This,  and  the  capture  of  Baron  de  St.  Castine, 
whose  mother  was  an  Indian  woman,  and  of 


[  63  ] 

several  Indians  who  were  taken  to  Boston  and 
held  in  captivity  as  hostages,  contrary  to  treaty 
obligations,  the  deception  too  often  used  in  their 
dealings  and  intercourse  with  the  Indians,  are 
among  the  causes  which  prejudiced  the  Indians 
against  the  English. 

It  is  evident  from  the  authorities  upon  this 
subject,  that  the  English  violated  their  solemn 
agreements  with  the  Indians,  which  resulted  in 
so  much  bloodshed  and  suffering. 

If  the  English  had  spent  more  energy  in  pla 
cating  the  Indians  by  fair  dealings  and  maintain 
ing  their  integrity  with  them,  and  less  fin  con 
tending  about  territorial  lines  and  inciting  their 
own  people  against  Rale,  it  would  undoubtedly 
have  been  far  wiser  and  better  for  all  concerned. 

The  strife  and  wrangling  over  these  treaties 
added  to  the  contentions  regarding  the  bound 
aries  of  Acadia,  which  we  have  already  consid 
ered,  are  among  the  events  of  that  time  which 
strengthened  and  stimulated  Rale  in  persistently 
pursuing  the  course  which  he  had  marked  out 
for  himself. 


HOW  MUCH    CONDONE? 
HOW  MUCH  CONDEMN? 


How   much  Condone? 
How  much  Condemn? 


IN  undertaking  to  determine  the  truth  re 
garding  Sebastian  Rale,  now  that  we  have 
passed  the  times  of  sectarian  bitterness,  we 
find  really  no  charges  against  him  which  in  any 
degree  constitute  a  valid  excuse  for  the  English 
colonists  in  transcending  the  methods  of  war  as 
conducted   by   civilized   nations,   by  wantonly 
murdering  him  instead  of  making  him  a  pris 
oner  of  war. 

The  improbable  tale  related  by  Lieutenant 
Jaques,  that  he  killed  him  contrary  to  orders 
and  in  self-defence,  has  probably  not  been  taken 
seriously  by  any  of  the  writers,  and  without  any 
further  evidence  to  sustain  it  than  has  yet  ap 
peared,  it  should  be  disregarded. 

Other  than  this  mythical  story,  the  two  rea 
sons  which  have  been  assigned  by  the  advocates 

67 


[68  ] 

of  his  enemies  as  an  apology  for  the  course 
which  they  pursued,  are  (a)y  that  he  was  a  trai 
tor  and  an  inciter  of  rebellion  against  the  Eng 
lish  Government ;  and  (b\  that  in  aiding  and 
abetting  the  French  in  their  warfare  against  the 
New  England  colonies,  regarding  this  question 
of  territorial  rights,  he  encouraged  the  Indians 
to  join  the  French  and  commit  acts  of  cruelty 
upon  the  innocent  English  in  that  part  of  Maine 
that  was  in  dispute. 

To  arrive  at  any  reasonable  conclusion  as  to 
the  charge  that  he  was  a  traitor,  it  is  well  to 
consider  the  claims  of  the  French  to  Acadia. 
Reference  has  already  been  made  to  the  fact  that 
there  was  an  attempt  between  the  English  and 
French  governments  to  settle  the  controversy 
regarding  its  ancient  limits.  The  result  of  these 
efforts  is  found  in  "  The  Memorials  of  the  Eng 
lish  and  French  Commissioners  concerning  the 
limits  of  Nova  Scotia  and  Acadia  from  1750  to 
17S3>"  an  exhaustive  work,  which  was  published 
in  London  (1754),  and  comprises  777  pages. 
It  contains  what  might  be  called  the  "briefs" 
of  the  advocates  of  the  two  governments. 

In  the  twenty-third  memorial  on  the  British 
side,  it  was  asserted  that : 


[  69  ] 

"Both  nations  having  thus  agreed  that  Pen- 
tagoet  was  within  the  western  limits  of  Acadia, 
the  French  from  this  period  omitted  no  oppor 
tunity  of  endeavoring  to  extend  by  claim  the 
limits  of  that  side  even  as  far  as  the  River  Ken- 
nebec." 

The  twenty-fourth  memorial  states  that,  in 
1685,  upon  a  complaint  that  some  English  ves 
sels  had  fished  upon  the  coast  of  Acadia,  the 
French  Ambassador  presented  a  memorial  to 
the  King  of  England,  on  the  i6th  day  of  Jan 
uary,  wherein  he  claims  that  the  western  line  of 
Acadia  extended  as  far  west  as  "St.  George's 
Island,  which  lies  at  the  mouth  of  the  river  St. 
George  ";  that  this  was  possessed  by  the  French 
until  the  year  1654,  when  it  was  taken  by  the 
English,  and  in  1667  again  restored  to  the 
French,  pursuant  to  the  treaty  of  Breda. 

In  the  twenty-ninth  memorial  they  say  :  "  It 
results  from  these  negotiations,  as  well  as  from 
the  alternatives  proposed  by  the  Ambassador 
of  France,  in  the  year  1700,  that  the  Court  of 
France  judged  that  they  had  a  right  to  extend 
the  western  limits  of  Acadia  as  far  as  the  river 
of  Kennebequi." 

The  French  contended  that  the  construction 


of  the  twelfth  and  thirteenth  articles  of  the  treaty 
of  Utrecht  is  very  clear  and  precise ;  that  the 
design  of  Great  Britian  in  those  articles  was  to 
secure  to  the  English  exclusive  fishery,  and 
that  the  English  Commissioners,  being  unable  to 
support  the  claim  of  their  government  upon  the 
words  in  this  treaty,  "  have  reasoned  upon  evi 
dence  and  argument  foreign  to  the  question." 

To  demonstrate  that  the  English  themselves 
acknowledged  that  there  was  great  doubt  as  to 
what  were  the  ancient  bounds  of  Acadia,  and 
that  the  French  possessions  east  of  the  Kenne- 
bec  River  were  at  least  established  and  held  un 
der  what  lawyers  would  denominate  "  a  color  of 
right/'  I  also  quote  the  following  statement  of 
the  case  from  the  English  arguments  made  to 
support  their  claims  : 

"  To  show  that  these  evidences  by  which  the 
English  Commissaries  have  endeavored  to  en 
force  the  true  meaning  of  the  twelfth  article  of 
the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  from  which  the  dispute 
has  taken  its  rise,  and  what  is  the  nature  of  the 
treaty  of  Utrecht,  having  ceded  to  Great  Britain 
all  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadia  with  its  ancient 
boundaries,"  etc. 


"  Clear  and  precise  as  the  French  Commis- 
sionaries  now  think  the  words  of  the  treaty,  a 
difference  of  construction  has  by  them  been 
raised  upon  them,  and  different  limits  are  as 
signed  by  the  two  crowns  as  the  ancient  limits." 

The  French  in  these  memorials  based  their 
claims  upon  ancient  maps,  charts,  records  of 
French  historians,  and  the  terms  of  the  treaty  of 
St.  Germain-en- Laye,  made  March  29,  1632, 
when  the  English  ceded  this  same  territory  to 
the  French.  As  bearing  upon  the  subject  in 
hand,  all  this  is  not  important  unless  it  tends  to 
absolve  Father  Rale  from  the  charge  of  being  a 
traitor  to  the  English  crown,  for  he  had  a  right 
to  assume  that  he  was  never  its  subject,  but 
owed  his  loyalty  to  the  French  government,  so 
long  as  it  asserted  sovereignty  over  the  territory 
east  of  the  Kennebec,  as  certainly  as  did  any  of 
the  Protestant  missionaries  owe  theirs  to  the 
English. 

The  fact  that  ancient  Acadia,  by  treaty  and 
conquest,  passed  nine  times  between  England 
and  France  in  the  period  of  1 27  years,  and  that 
none  of  these  events  conclusively  decided  what 
were  its  actual  boundary  lines,  would  seem  to 
clearly  demonstrate  the  general  confusion  and 


misunderstanding  that  existed  during  all  of 
Rale's  time  regarding  the  whereabouts  of  these 
lines. 

Neither  is  it  surprisingly  strange  that  a  mis 
sionary  whose  post  chanced  to  be  upon  territory 
the  title  to  which  was  involved  in  such  contro 
versy  between  two  great  nations,  should  not 
have  possessed  profound  legal  knowledge  re 
garding  questions  of  such  character,  but  naturally 
gave  his  own  government,  by  whose  prerogative 
he  was  placed  there,  the  benefit  of  the  doubt. 

The  Norridgewock  mission  was  established 
long  before  the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  when  the  en 
tire  world  acknowledged  Acadia  as  belonging  to 
the  French. 

The  Mission  was  in  a  territory  between  the 
Kennebec  and  the  St.  Croix,  which  the  French 
from  the  first  to  the  last  contended  did  not  pass 
to  the  English  under  this  treaty.  Rale  was  then 
a  subject  of  the  king  of  France  and  had  been 
installed  at  his  mission  at  Norridgewock  by  his 
government  and  his  church. 

Did  he  not  have  a  moral  right  to  be  loyal  to 
the  French  in  their  contentions  with  the  Eng 
lish  about  the  territory  where  he  was  ?  Did  he 
not  have  the  right  to  sympathize  with  the 


[73  1 

French  and  do  whatever  he  could  that  was  con 
sistent  with  his  priestly  office  to  aid  them  in 
holding,  by  force  even,  what  he  believed  to  be 
theirs,  against  the  encroachments  of  the  Eng 
lish  ?  That  he  may,  in  his  zeal  as  a  patriot, 
have  exceeded  his  duties  as  a  priest,  is  very 
likely,  and  there  is  more  or  less  evidence  in  the 
accounts  of  those  times  to  substantiate  this. 

He  was  under  no  obligation  of  fealty  to  Eng 
land,  unless  a  fair  construction  of  the  twelfth 
Article  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  transferred  the 
territory  upon  which  he  dwelt  from  France  to 
England. 

The  French  government  and  the  governor 
of  Canada  were,  during  the  storms  of  his  life, 
contending  that  this  was  not  the  fact. 

Was  he  a  traitor  in  not  adopting  the  views  of 
the  English  in  regard  to  this  question  ?  Would 
he  not  have  been  a  greater  traitor  if  he  had 
turned  against  France  and  become  an  adherent 
to  England  ? 

As  to  his  alleged  cruelty,  it  must  be  admit 
ted  that  he  espoused  the  cause  of  the  French, 
and  it  is  strongly  urged  that  he  exerted  his  in 
fluence  with  the  Indians  to  fight  the  English 
colonists  whom  he  believed  unlawfully  encroach- 


[74] 

ing  upon  territory  that  rightfully  belonged  to 
the  Indians  and  over  which  France  had  control. 
In  this  did  he  differ  from  the  customs  of  those 
dark  days?  Were  not  the  English  and  French 
for  a  century  fierce  rivals  in  their  efforts  to  se 
cure  the  aid  of  the  Indians  in  fighting  each 
other?  And  was  it  not  well  known  to  each  of 
the  contending  forces  and  to  the  home  govern 
ment,  and  to  the  entire  civilized  world  as  well, 
that  whenever  or  for  whichever  side  the  Indians 
fought,  their  methods  were  the  very  height  of 
barbarous  cruelty? 

When  either  side  was  able,  by  threats,  cajol 
ery,  bribery  or  kindness,  to  win  over  to  them 
selves  the  help  of  the  Indian  warriors,  it  meant 
burning,  pillage,  scalping,  murder  and  fiendish 
torture  to  the  other  side. 

In  his  designs,  in  this  respect,  Sebastian 
Rale  was  no  better  and  no  worse  than  his  com 
peers  in  that  time  of  religious  fanaticism  and 
devilish  intolerance.  That  he  was  an  intense 
and  most  strenuous  partisan  of  his  church  and 
the  government  to  which  he  believed  his  alle 
giance  belonged,  can  never  be  truthfully  denied, 
and  I  believe  that  he  was  a  natural,  although 
perhaps  a  ripely  developed  product  of  the  times 


[75  ] 

of  blood  and  bigotry,  cruelty  and  tyranny  in 
which  he  lived.  Some  writer  has  well  said  that 
"  the  age  and  times  in  which  men  live  must  be 
taken  into  consideration  when  we  judge  their 
character  ";  and  this  is  true,  and  the  fact  should 
be  fully  realized  before  passing  judgment  upon 
one  whose  sincerity  cannot  be  doubted  and  who 
has  been  condemned  for  acts  which  were  mani 
festly  the  result  of  an  excessive  zeal  for  the  cause 
to  which  he  gave  his  life. 

Then  it  seems  very  evident  that  the  colonists 
broke  faith  with  the  Indians  and  violated  the 
solemn  agreements  made  with  them  at  Ports 
mouth  and  Arrowsic  on  many  occasions  and  in 
ways  which  provoked  the  antagonism  of  the 
Indians  and  aroused  their  barbarous  natures  to 
commit  acts  of  torture  which  might  easily  have 
been  averted. 

It  is  also  undoubtedly  true  that  many  of  the 
cruelties  and  barbarities  of  the  Indians  were 
caused  by  the  brandy  and  rum  sold  to  them  by 
the  English,  and  about  which  Rale  so  often 
bitterly  complained.  Rale  was  their  friend  and 
counsellor  and,  it  would  seem,  properly  espoused 
their  cause. 

One  of  the  curious  episodes   in  the  life  of 


Rale  at  Norridgewock  was  his  controversy  with 
a  minister  of  Boston,  James  Baxter,  which,  be 
ginning  about  theology,  finally  ended  in  a  quar 
rel  between  them  as  to  which  was  the  most 
learned  in  Latin.  The  correspondence  discloses 
only  an  absurd  vein  of  vanity  in  both. 

In  closing  this  part  of  the  subject  I  desire 
only  to  add  that,  from  the  time  of  the  landing 
of  the  iron-hearted  Northmen  on  our  shores  a 
thousand  years  ago  or  more,  until  the  last  of 
the  cruel  Indian  wars  were  forever  ended,  the 
early  history  of  our  grand  old  State  of  Maine 
is  replete  with  perilous  adventures  by  sea  and 
land,  of  struggles  against  misery  and  hardships 
of  which  we  have  no  comprehension,  of  terrible 
conflicts,  devastation  and  disaster.  Our  past  is 
a  wonderful  one,  rich  in  momentous  historic 
events  and  full  of  material  for  song  and  romance ; 
but  it  seems  to  me  that  whatever  view  the  reader 
may  take  of  his  merits,  his  errors,  his  virtues 
or  his  faults,  there  is  no  event  in  all  this  lore 
more  interesting  and  fascinating  than  the  career 
of  Sebastian  Rale  at  Norridgewock,  one  of  the 
bravest  in  the  advance-guard  in  the  forward 
movement  of  Christian  civilization  on  the 
American  continent. 


THE  INDIANS  OF  MAINE  AND 
THE  TRADITION   OF   PAMOLA 


BIG  THUNDER 

of  the  Penobscot  tribe  of  Indians,  in  the  garb  of  an  ancient 
Abnaki  chief 


The  Indians  of  Maine 


THE  pathetic  history  of  the  extermina 
tion  of  the  powerful  Indian  nations  of 
North  America  is  fascinating  and  full 
of  interest,  although  it  is  a  tale  of  cruelty  and 
of  "  man's  inhumanity  to  man." 

The  Algonquins  formed  the  most  prominent 
of  the  three  aboriginal  races  that  the  French 
pioneers  found  in  the  great  basin  of  the  St. 
Lawrence  and  much  of  the  territory  adjacent 
thereto.  They  were  the  veritable  monarchs  of 
that  vast  forest  and  the  lords  of  all  the  mighty 
rivers  and  wonderful  lakes  which  were  revealed 
to  the  astonished  vision  of  the  early  explorers, 
friars  and  Jesuits. 

The  tribes  of  the  Abenaquis,  or  Abnikis,  as 
they  are  generally  known  in  history,  belong  to 
that  nation,  and  when  the  first  steps  of  Euro 
pean  civilization  were  made  upon  what  is  now 

81 


[  82  ] 

the  state  of  Maine,  this  branch  of  the  Algon- 
quins  controlled  the  territory. 

The  principal  tribes  consisted  of  the  Cana- 
bis  on  the  Kennebec ;  the  Etchenims,  living 
nearer  the  St.  John ;  the  Pennacooks  of  the 
Merrimac;  the  Sokokis  further  east,  besides 
smaller  tribes  like  the  Penobscots,  Passama- 
quoddys,  Chesuncooks,  etc.  The  name  "  Cana- 
bis"  undoubtedly  gave  rise  to  the  idea  that 
some  of  the  Maine  Indians  were  cannibals.  It 
does  not  appear,  however,  from  the  most  care 
ful  writers,  that  this  was  the  fact. 

The  origin  of  the  American  Indian  is  involved 
in  complete  obscurity  and  profound  mystery. 
The  "  red  men  "  of  Canada  and  the  United 
States  differ  in  many  respects  from  the  Guronis 
of  Paraguay,  and  both  from  the  wild  tribes  of 
California  ;  but  all  writers  have  agreed  that  they 
exhibit  clear  evidence  of  belonging  to  the  same 
great  branch  of  the  human  family. 

Most  of  the  voyagers  and  discoverers,  in 
cluding  Columbus,  believed  these  aboriginals 
were  of  Asiatic  origin.  This  idea  has  never  been 
entirely  abandoned,  some  modern  writers  still 
adhering  to  the  same  theory. 

Dr.  Robert  Brown,  in  his  "  Races  of  Man- 


[  83  ] 

kind/*  upholds  this  view.  In  its  support  he 
cites  the  fact  that  the  "  Eskimo  of  the  Ameri 
can,  and  the  Tchuktchis  on  the  Asiatic  side, 
understand  each  other  perfectly. " 

It  is  generally  understood  that  the  name  In 
dian  was  conferred  upon  them  from  their  real 
or  fancied  resemblance  to  the  inhabitants  of 
India. 

The  aborigines  of  Maine  were  not  unlike 
others  of  their  race  in  the  North  Atlantic  coun 
try.  They  were  natural  types  of  the  Bow-and- 
arrow  family  of  men,  and  were  from  the  earliest 
times  known  as  the  Abenaki  tribe.  It  is  unfor 
tunate  that  the  early  New  England  writers  did 
not  give  us  much  information  regarding  the 
Indians.  The  greater  part  of  what  they  wrote 
of  the  red  men  related  to  their  warfare  with 
them ;  what  victories  they  achieved  in  these 
wars,  and  their  versions  of  the  cruelties  of  the 
Indian. 

As  a  result  we  are  obliged  to  take  our  infor 
mation  from  the  French  writers  of  that  period, 
who  had  radically  differed  from  the  English  in 
their  treatment  and  dealings  with  this  race,  and 
who  were  enthusiastic  in  their  praise  of  them 
and  admittedly  their  partisans. 


These  Indians  were  nomadic  in  their  habits, 
roaming  over  immense  stretches  of  hunting 
grounds  and  continually  travelling  from  river 
to  river  and  lake  to  lake.  It  may  properly  be 
said  that  their  vocation  was  hunting,  although 
they  possessed  such  passion  for  war  that  savage 
warfare  was  at  least  an  avocation  with  them, 
which  they  apparently  loved  as  intensely  as  they 
did  the  chase. 

No  race  on  this  earth  has  ever  exhibited  a 
stronger  desire  for  personal  independence  and 
freedom  of  action  or  a  greater  hatred  of  restraint 
of  any  kind  than  have  they.  Hence,  when  the 
most  shadowy  and  vaguest  ideas  of  the  func 
tions  of  government  began  to  dawn  upon  their 
shrouded  intellect,  they  were  necessarily  its  nat 
ural  enemy. 

A  crude  religious  or  spiritual  strain  was  one 
of  their  predominant  characteristics.  They  be 
lieved  in  a  Great  Spirit  everywhere  present, 
ruling  the  elements,  riding  on  the  storm,  his 
voice  in  the  awful  thunder  when  angry,  and 
gleaming  in  the  glad  sunlight  when  pleased ; 
that  the  good  were  rewarded  and  the  bad  pun 
ished.  They  also  believed  in  lesser  spirits  — 
some  good,  some  bad. 


These  spirits  of  both  orders  visited  them  on 
earth.  Evil  dreams,  diseases  of  all  kinds,  ene 
mies,  cheating  pale  faces,  severe  winters,  starva 
tion,  a  scarcity  of  game,  ill  luck  in  the  chase, 
the  bad  spirits  were  all  responsible  for;  while, 
on  the  other  hand,  the  good  spirits  brought 
sunshine,  kind  friends,  peace,  plenty  and  all  the 
creatures  which  they  hunted. 

The  Rev.  Eugene  Vetromile,  in  his  "  History 
of  the  Abnakis,"  published  in  1866,  denies  the 
statement  of  some  historians  that  they  were 
idolaters.  It  is  true  that  they  in  some  manner 
worshipped  the  sun,  offering  sacrifice  to  it; 
but  the  Indians  explain  that  the  material  lumi 
nary  was  not  the  object  of  their  worship,  but  it 
only  represented  another  luminary  invisible  to 
our  eyes  ;  and  as  the  sun  illuminating  the  whole 
earth  gives  life  and  light  to  every  object,  so  it 
was  representing  an  invisible  Being  who  gives 
light,  animation,  life  and  support  to  the  whole 
world. 

They  believed  also  in  a  great  Evil  Spirit  who 
was  the  cause  of  all  trouble  in  this  world  and 
the  world  of  spirits. 

The  Evil  Spirit  recognized  by  the  Penobscot 
Indians  was  called  by  them  Pamola  (meaning 


[86  ] 

that  "he  curses  on  the  mountain"),  and  was 
supposed  to  reside  during  the  summer  season 
on  the  top  of  Mount  Katahdin.  They  offered 
sacrifices  to  him  to  appease  him  so  that  he 
would  not  curse  or  injure  them.  Although  they 
hunted  and  fished  in  the  woods  and  lakes  around 
Mount  Katahdin,  yet  they  never  attempted  to 
go  on  the  top  of  that  mountain  for  fear  that 
they  would  never  be  able  to  return,  but  would 
be  either  killed  or  devoured  by  Pamola.  It  is 
only  within  recent  years  that  the  Indians  have 
been  induced  by  sportsmen  and  visitors  to  act 
as  guides  in  ascending  this  mountain. 

The  medicine  man  served  as  priest,  seer  and 
prophet,  and  mediated  between  them  and  the 
spirit  world. 

This  was  substantially  the  gist  of  their  reli 
gious  superstitions.  As  friends  they  were  as 
true  as  the  magnet  to  steel,  but  as  enemies  they 
were  without  forgiveness,  and  to  avenge  a  wrong 
was  one  of  their  highest  aims. 

The  early  Indians  of  Maine  are  said  to  have 
been  extremely  hostile  and  revengeful.  It  would 
seem,  however,  that  the  English  had  only  them 
selves  to  blame  for  this  rapid  development  of 
the  Indian  characteristics  in  these  respects. 


[  89  ] 

They  began  their  intercourse  with  them  by 
practising  treachery  and  fraud.  One  of  the  first 
English  voyagers  who  visited  the  Maine  coast, 
Captain  George  Weymouth,  in  1605,  landed  at 
what  is  now  known  as  the  Island  of  Monhegan. 
Later  he  visited  the  mainland,  and  after  mak 
ing  presents  to  the  Indians  and  treating  them 
with  great  kindness,  he  induced  five  of  them  to 
visit  his  ship,  the  "  Archangel/'  forcibly  kid 
napped  them  and  carried  them  as  captives  with 
their  canoes  and  bows  and  arrows  to  London. 

This  was  the  beginning  which  these  men,  pro 
fessing  to  represent  Him  who  came  to  bring 
"  peace  on  earth  and  good  will  to  men,"  made 
in  their  dealings  with  their  savage  brothers  in 
Maine.  This  was  followed  by  many  acts  of 
cruel  treachery  which  space  forbids  me  to  cite. 

Is  it  strange  that  such  treatment  should  cause 
the  Abenakis  with  their  fiery  and  revengeful 
natures  to  hate  the  English  and  make  them 
their  everlasting  enemies  ? 

However  widely  we  may  differ  from  the  Jes 
uits  in  some  matters,  one  fact  is  certainly  firmly 
established,  and  that  is,  that  in  their  intercourse 
with  the  Indians  of  Maine  and  Canada  they 
displayed  not  only  a  more  Christian  and  frater- 


[90] 

nizing  spirit,  but  far  superior  wisdom,  judg 
ment  and  discretion.  They  first  studied  their 
traits  of  character,  habits  and  peculiarities,  and 
gained  their  confidence  and  esteem  before  at 
tempting  to  convert  them.  Had  the  English 
pursued  such  a  policy,  a  century  of  untold  suf 
fering,  horror,  torture  and  cruelty  endured  by 
innocent  settlers  in  subsequent  years  would  have 
been  averted. 

Is  it  any  wonder  that  the  French,  their  gov 
ernors,  their  friars  and  their  priests  maintained 
such  a  strong  influence  over  them  for  so  long 
a  time  ? 

According  to  Vetromile,  the  following  vow 
was  once  taken  by  all  of  the  Abenakis  of  Maine  : 

"  Our  Good  Mother  and  very  Beloved  Mary: 
Now  the  best  offer  that  we  can  make  is,  that  we 
might  give  up  our  sins ;  be  willing  that,  through 
reverence  to  our  elder  brother,  they  may  ask 
the  forgivness  of  our  sins.  Accept  now  the 
offer  that  we  make  of  ourselves  to  you.  We 
now  have  more  extensively  come  to  the  knowl 
edge  of  who  made  us,  and  how  he  went  to 
work  to  save  us  by  buying  us.  Oh,  that  we 
might  have  known  it  before  !  We  feel  ashamed, 
we  stop  doing  wrong,  and  we  offer  a  reparation 


for  our  sins.  He  redeemed  us  while  we  were 
in  sin,  by  our  mother.  We  do  wrong,  but  it  is 
just  now  that  we  commence  to  be  Christians. 
We  are  coming  thither  because  we  have  long 
ago  lost  the  Great  Spirit.  Five  years  ago  our 
eldest  brothers,  by  praying,  made  us  pure 
Christians.  Great,  good  Mother,  Sangman 
Mary,  made  powerful  by  Him,  make  the  offer 
for  us  for  our  sins  !  It  is  by  the  instructions  of 
the  Catholic  religion  that  we  come  to  the  knowl 
edge  that  we  were  in  sin,  and  that  we  were  com 
mitting  sin ;  but  we  never  knew  it  before  that 
time ;  no,  we  never  did.  Now  you  know  us, 
O  Mary,  very  good  Mother.  We  are  become 
a  little  wiser,  hence  we  feel  ashamed  of  our  bad 
conduct  while  we  were  in  the  state  of  a  savage, 
wild  life.  Now  we  obey  your  Son  —  what  we 
call  your  Son  ;  being  baptized  now,  we  want  to 
know  whether  we  are  your  children.  It  is  a 
little  thing,  yet  we  offer  it  of  good  will  for  our 
sins.  Speak  for  us  to  our  Father,  the  Sangman 
Francis  de  Sales,  whose  body  long  time  ago  was 
buried  there.  We  offer  ourselves  to  you  for 
ever  ;  and  this  wampum,  which  we  give  to  you 
forever,  be  an  everlasting  token  between  us 
forever.  Mary,  good  owner  of  the  angels  and 


[92] 

of  the  Indians,  one  thing  that  we  ask  from  you 
—  that  your  Son  Jesus  may  be  safe  in  our 
hearts  as  He  was  safe  in  your  body.  We  love 
you  and  your  Son  till  we  die,  and  forever. 
Mary,  accept  this  wampum  forever.  May  you 
accept  our  words  and  our  offer  by  prayer  for 
ever  !  May  you  own  us  forever !  We  like  to 
obey  you.  Place  in  our  hearts  what  we  are  ask 
ing  in  this  petition." 


The  Tradition  of  Pamola 


THE  following  is  the  legendary  tale  of 
Pamola,  who  was  the  great  Evil  Spirit 
or  devil  of  the  Penobscot  tribe : 
Several  hundred  years  ago,  while  a  Penob 
scot  Indian  was  encamped  eastward  of  Mount 
Katahdin  in  the  autumn  hunting-season,  a  severe 
and  unexpected  fall  of  snow  covered  the  whole 
land  to  the  depth  of  several  feet.  Being  unpro 
vided  with  snowshoes,  he  found  himself  unable 
to  return  home.  After  remaining  several  days 
in  the  camp,  blocked  up  with  drifts  of  snow, 
and  seeing  no  means  of  escape,  he  thought  that 
he  was  doomed  to  perish.  In  despair  he  called 
several  times  in  a  loud  voice  upon  Pamola. 
Finally,  in  response  to  his  despairing  cries,  Pa 
mola  made  his  appearance  upon  the  mountain. 
Taking  courage  upon  beholding  him,  the  In 
dian  offered  to  him  a  sacrifice  of  oil  and  fat, 

93 


[94] 

which  he  poured  and  cunsumed  upon  burning 
coals  from  the  camp.  As  the  smoke  was  ascend 
ing,  Pamola  was  descending,  but  as  the  sacrifice 
was  consumed  when  the  spirit  was  only  halfway 
down  the  mountain,  the  Indian  took  more  oil 
and  fat  and  repeated  the  sacrifice  till  Pamola 
arrived  at  the  camp,  where  the  Indian  gladly 
welcomed  him,  saying :  "  You  are  welcome, 
partner."  Pamola  replied,  "  You  have  done 
well  to  call  me  partner  ;  because  you  have  called 
me  by  that  name  you  are  saved,  otherwise  you 
would  have  been  killed  by  me.  No  Indian  has 
ever  called  on  me  and  lived,  having  always  been 
devoured  by  me.  Now  I  will  take  you  on  the 
mountain,  and  you  shall  be  happy  with  me." 
Putting  the  Indian  upon  his  shoulders,  Pamola 
bade  him  close  his  eyes,  and  in  a  few  moments, 
with  a  noise  like  the  whistling  of  a  powerful 
wind,  they  were  inside  of  the  mountain.  Here 
in  a  comfortable  wigwam,  furnished  with  abund 
ance  of  venison,  and  with  all  the  luxuries  of 
life,  lived  Pamola  with  his  wife  and  children. 
Pamola  gave  the  Indian  his  daughter  to  wife 
and  told  him  that  after  one  year  he  might  re 
turn  to  his  friends  on  the  Penobscot,  and  that 
he  might  go  back  to  the  mountain  at  any  time 


[95  ] 

that  he  pleased  to  see  his  wife,  and  remain  as 
long  as  he  wished ;  but  he  must  not  marry  again, 
for  if  he  should  he  would  be  at  once  transported 
to  Mount  Katahdin,  with  no  hope  of  ever  more 
going  out  of  it.  At  the  end  of  the  year  the  In 
dian  returned  to  Oldtown  and  related  all  that 
had  happened  to  him  in  Mount  Katahdin,  and 
the  circumstances  through  which  he  got  into  it. 
At  first  he  refused  all  the  Indians'  persuasions 
to  marry  again,  but  at  last  they  prevailed  upon 
him  to  marry.  Upon  the  morning  after  his 
marriage  he  mysteriously  disappeared,  and  as 
nothing  more  was  heard  from  him,  they  felt 
sure  that  he  had  been  taken  by  Pamola  into 
Mount  Katahdin. 

Filled  with  consternation,  the  Indians  con 
ceived  a  great  fear  for  this  evil  spirit.  One 
young  Indian  woman,  harder  to  be  convinced 
than  the  rest,  constantly  persisted  in  refusing  to 
believe  even  in  the  existance  of  Pamola,  unless 
she  saw  him  with  her  own  eyes.  It  happened 
that  one  day  while  she  was  on  the  shores  of  the 
Lake  Ambocticus,  Pamola  appeared  to  her  and 
reproached  her  with  incredulity.  Taking  her 
by  force  he  put  her  on  his  shoulders,  and  after 
a  few  moments'  flight,  with  a  great  whistling  of 


[  96] 

wind,  they  were  in  the  interior  of  the  mountain. 
There  she  remained  for  one  year  and  was  well 
treated  but  was  got  with  child  by  Pamola.  A 
few  months  before  her  confinement  Pamola  told 
her  to  go  back  to  her  relatives,  saying  that  the 
child  that  was  to  be  born  of  her  was  to  be  great, 
and  would  perform  such  wonders  as  to  amaze 
the  nation.  He  would  have  the  power  to  kill 
any  person  or  animal  by  simply  pointing  at  the 
object  with  the  forefinger  of  his  right  hand. 
Hence,  that  the  child  was  to  be  watched  very 
closely  till  the  age  of  manhood,  because  many 
evils  might  follow  from  that  power.  But  when 
the  child  grew  up  he  would  save  his  nation  from 
the  hands  of  its  enemies,  and  would  confer 
many  benefits  on  the  people.  If  she  should  be 
in  need  of  any  assistance,  she  had  nothing  to 
do  but  to  call  upon  Pamola  in  any  place  she 
might  be,  and  he  would  appear  to  her.  He 
warned  her  not  to  marry  again,  for  if  she  should 
remarry  both  she  and  the  child  would  be  at  once 
transported  into  Mount  Katahdin  forever.  He 
then  put  her  on  his  shoulders  in  the  same  man 
ner  as  he  had  done  in  taking  her  up  to  the 
mountain,  and  left  her  on  the  shore  of  Lake 
Ambocticus.  Returning  to  Oldtown,  she  related 


[97  ] 

all  that  had  happened  to  her,  and  also  that  she 
had  seen  in  the  mountain  the  Indian  who  had 
been  taken  away  by  Pamola. 

The  child  was  born  and  she  took  great  care 
of  him.  Several  times  she  called  upon  Pamola, 
who  always  made  his  appearance  to  her  in  re 
sponse  to  her  summons.  When  in  want  of  ven 
ison,  either  in  the  woods  or  in  the  river,  she 
had  but  to  take  the  child,  and  holding  his  right 
hand  she  stretched  out  his  finger  and  made  it 
point  out  a  deer  or  moose,  and  it  at  once  fell 
dead.  So  also  in  a  flock  of  ducks,  she  made 
the  child's  finger  single  out  one  of  the  flock, 
which  likewise  fell  dead.  The  child  grew  and 
was  the  admiration  and  pride  of  all. 

It  happened  one  day  that  while  he  was  stand 
ing  at  the  door  of  the  wigwam,  he  saw  a  friend 
of  his  mother's  coming.  He  announced  it  to 
her,  and  at  the  same  time  with  the  first  finger  of 
his  right  hand  he  pointed  at  him  and  the  man 
immediately  fell  dead.  This  fact  caused  great 
consternation,  not  only  in  the  mother  of  the 
child,  but  also  in  the  entire  tribe,  who  looked 
on  him  as  a  very  dangerous  subject  among  them. 
Everybody  fled  from  his  company  and  even 
from  his  sight.  The  mother  called  on  Pamola 


[98  ] 

and  related  to  him  what  had  happened,  and  also 
the  fear  and  consternation  in  which  she  and  the 
entire  tribe  were.  Pamola  told  her  that  he  had 
already  commanded  her  to  watch  the  child,  be 
cause  the  power  conferred  on  him  might  pro 
duce  serious  evils.  He  advised  her  to  keep  the 
child  altogether  from  society  till  the  age  of  man 
hood,  as  he  might  be  fatal  with  many  others. 
The  Indians  wanted  her  to  marry,  but  she  re 
fused  on  the  ground  of  it  being  forbidden  by 
Pamola,  who  was  her  husband,  and  in  case  of 
marriage,  she  and  the  child  would  both  be  taken 
up  to  Mount  Katahdin.  The  Indians  prevailed 
upon  her,  however,  and  she  married ;  but  on 
the  evening  of  the  marriage-day,  while  all  the 
Indians  were  gathered  together  in  dancing  and 
feasting  for  the  celebration  of  the  marriage,  both 
she  and  the  child  disappeared  forever. 


LETTERS 

RALE  TO  CAPT.  MOODY— RALE  TO  HIS  BROTHER- 
RALE  TO  HIS  NEPHEW-THE  GOVERNOR  OF  MASSA 
CHUSETTS  TO  THE  GOVERNOR  OF  NEW  FRANCE 


Letters 


EXTRACTS  FROM  A  LETTER  WRITTEN  BY  RALE 
TO  CAPT.  MOODY,  FEB.  7,  1720. 

"A   |    AHE  Traders  in  Brandy  to  the  Indians 
had  by  their  declarations  in  Canada  a 
fine    set    upon  them   of  a    thousand 
Crowns,  and  he  that  could  not  pay  it  was  con 
demned  to  the  Chain  and  to  be  whipped  through 
the  Town.    There  is  no  Justice  among'st  the 
English,  who  have  never  given  them  any,  Even 
under  this  Governor,  I  think  to  do  it  myself. 

"  If  Rum  drinking  continues,  the  drinker  of 
Rum  shall  find  wherewithall  to  eat,  by  suffer 
ing  him  to  kill  one  of  the  cattle  belonging  to 
him  that  shall  have  given  him  drink.  And  if 
he  won't  kill  it  for  fear  of  being  refused  it 
another  time,  another  that  is  not  a  drinker  shall 
kill  it ;  this  I  think  to  propose  to  the  men, 
when  they  come  home,  and  I  am  sure  they'll 
hear  me  with  pleasure. 

101 


"  I  can't  by  my  Character  carry  them  forth  to 
war,  I  can  absolutely  hinder  them  when  they 
haven't  solid  reasons  for  it,  but  when  they  have 
any,  I  sha'n't  hinder  them,  as  for  example,  to 
preserve  their  Land  whereon  depends  their 
prayers,  or  any  considerable  wrong  that's  done 
to  them,  in  these  cases  I'll  tell  them  they  may 
make  war. 

"  The  views  of  your  Governor  are  fine  and 
generous ;  he  desires  war,  and  being  a  warrior 
he  must  not  wonder  at  it,  but  I'm  sure  he  would 
be  astonished  at  an  Indian  war,  five  forts  and 
many  houses  in  Arrowsick  were  reduced  to 
ashes  in  one  day. 

"The  English  say  it's  the  Fryer  or  Mr. 
Vaudreuil  that  stirs  up  war,  but  'twil'  be  said  at 
the  Conference  (where  I  shall  be  and  upon  their 
desire,  perhaps,  speak  for  the  Indians)  'tis  you 
English,  you  seize  our  Lands  against  our  will  & 
thereby  take  away  our  prayers,  more  valuable 
than  our  Lands  or  bodies ;  you  will  govern  us  ; 
I  desire  your  Governor  may  know  this.  I  am 
actually  composing  an  ample  writing  about  these 
things  to  send  to  the  King  of  France,  that  he 
see  what  I  do  to  preserve  my  Indians  in  their 
Lands  &  prayers,  which  depend  thereon ;  here- 


in  I  heard  the  King's  designs  reported  to  me 
by  Mr.  Vaudreuil,  Last  fall,  and  three  years 
before  that  I  should  assist  the  Indians  to  pre 
serve  their  Lands  &  prayers;  to  move  me  he 
has  assigned  me  a  considerable  pension  of  6,000 
francs  till  my  death ;  all  this  goes  away  in  Good 
Works ;  this  I  suppose  comes  because  your 
Governor  has  threatened  he  will  have  me  taken 
up,  or  cause  me  to  quit  by  writing  to  his  King 
against  me.  The  Indians  told  it  to  Mr.  Vau 
dreuil  who  wrote  it  to  the  Court,  since  which  I 
am  more  and  more  strengthened  here  .  .  ." 


EXTRACTS  FROM   RALE'S  LETTER  TO  HIS 
BROTHER 

"  At  Nanrantsouak, 
this  1 2th  day  of  October  1723. 
"  Monsieur  and  very  dear  brother : 

"  The  peace  of  our  Lord  : 
"  I  can  no  longer  refuse  the  kind  requests 
which  you  make  me  in  all  your  letters,  to  inform 
you  a  little  in  detail  of  my  occupations  and  of 
the  character  of  the  Savage  nations,  in  the  midst 
of  which  Providence  has  placed  me  for  so  many 
years.  I  do  it  the  more  willingly,  because  in 
conforming  in  this  regard  to  wishes  so  urgent 
on  your  part  I  satisfy  yet  more  your  affection 
and  curiosity. 

"  It  was  the  23  day  of  July  of  the  year  1689 
that  I  embarked  at  Rochelle ;  and  after  three 
months  of  a  pleasant  enough  voyage,  I  arrived 
at  Quebec  the  I3th  of  October  of  the  same  year. 
I  applied  myself  at  first  to  learning  the  language 
of  our  Savages.  This  is  difficult ;  because  it  is 

104 


[  105  ] 

not  sufficient  to  study  the  terms  and  their  sig 
nification  and  to  make  a  collection  of  words  and 
phrases,  it  is  still  necessary  to  know  the  turn 
and  the  arrangement  which  the  savages  give 
them,  which  one  hardly  acquires  except  by  in 
tercourse  and  association  with  these  people. 

"  I  went  then  to  dwell  in  a  village  with  the 
Abnaki  nation,  situated  in  a  forest,  which  is  only 
three  leagues  from  Quebec.  This  was  inhabited 
by  two  hundred  savages  nearly  all  Christians. 
Their  cabins  were  arranged  a  little  like  the 
houses  in  the  towns ;  an  inclosure  of  stakes, 
thick  and  high,  form  a  kind  of  wall  which  shel 
ters  them  from  the  incursions  of  their  enemies. 

"Their  cabins  are  very  soon  set  up;  they 
plant  poles  which  they  join  at  the  top ;  and 
they  cover  them  with  great  sheets  of  bark.  The 
fire  is  made  in  the  middle  of  the  cabin  ;  they 
spread  all  round  rush  mats,  on  which  they  sit 
during  the  day  ;  and  take  their  repose  during 
the  night. 

"  The  clothing  of  the  men  consists  of  a  cas 
sock  of  skin,  or  else  of  a  piece  of  red  or  blue 
stuff.  That  of  the  women  is  a  blanket ;  which 
hangs  from  the  neck  quite  to  the  middle  of  the 
legs  and  which  they  adjust  quite  properly. 


[  106  ] 

They  put  another  blanket  on  the  head,  which 
descends  even  to  the  feet  and  which  serves  them 
for  a  cloak.  Their  stockings  extend  only  from 
the  knee  to  the  ankle.  Socks  made  of  elk's  hide 
and  lined  inside  with  hair  or  wool  serve  them 
in  place  of  shoes.  This  sock  is  absolutely  neces 
sary  to  them  in  order  to  be  adjusted  to  the 
snowshoes,  by  means  of  which  they  walk  upon 
the  snow.  These  snow-shoes  are  made  lozenge 
shape,  are  more  than  two  feet  long  and  a  foot 
and  a  half  wide.  I  did  not  believe  that  I  could 
ever  walk  with  such  machines  ;  when  I  made  a 
trial  of  them  I  soon  found  it  so  easy  that  the 
savages  could  not  believe  that  it  was  the  first 
time  that  I  had  made  use  of  them.  The  inven 
tion  of  these  snow-shoes  is  of  great  use  to  these 
savages  not  only  to  travel  on  the  snow,  with 
which  the  ground  is  covered  a  great  part  of  the 
year,  but  also  to  go  in  pursuit  of  beasts  and 
above  all  of  the  moose ;  these  animals,  larger 
than  the  largest  oxen  of  France,  walk  only  with 
difficulty  upon  the  snow  ;  thus  it  is  not  difficult 
for  the  savages  to  overtake  them,  and  they  often 
kill  them  with  a  common  knife  attached  to  the 
end  of  a  stick,  they  feed  upon  their  flesh  and 
after  having  well  dressed  their  skins  in  which 


they  are  skillful  they  trade  them  with  French 
and  English  who  give  them  in  exchange  cas 
socks,  blankets,  kettles,  guns,  hatchets  and 
knives. 

"  To  give  you  an  idea  of  a  savage,  picture  to 
yourself  a  large  man  strong,  agile,  of  a  swarthy 
tint,  without  beard,  with  black  hair,  and  whose 
teeth  are  whiter  than  ivory.  If  you  wish  to  see 
him  in  his  acoutrements  you  will  only  find  for 
his  whole  adornment  what  is  called  beads  ;  this 
is  a  kind  of  shell  or  stone  which  they  fashion 
into  the  form  of  little  grains,  some  white  and 
others  black,  and  which  they  string  in  such  a 
manner,  that  they  represent  divers  very  regular 
figures  which  are  agreeable  to  them.  It  is  with 
this  bead  that  our  Savages  knot  and  plait  their 
hair  above  their  ears  and  behind,  make  collars, 
garters,  belts,  five  or  six  inches  wide  and  with 
this  sort  of  ornaments  they  estimate  themselves 
a  great  deal  more  than  a  European  does  with  all 
his  gold  and  his  jewels. 

"  The  occupation  of  the  men  is  hunting  or 
war,  that  of  the  women  is  to  remain  in  the  vil 
lage  and  to  make  there  out  of  bark  baskets, 
bags,  boxes,  dishes,  plates,  etc.  They  sew  the 
bark  with  roots  and  make  of  them  various  uten- 


sils  very  appropriately  wrought,  the  canoes  are 
likewise  made  solely  of  bark,  but  the  largest 
can  scarcely  hold  more  than  six  or  seven  persons. 
"  It  is  with  these  canoes  made  of  a  bark  which 
has  hardly  the  thickness  of  a  crown,  that  they 
cross  the  arms  of  the  sea,  and  that  they  navi 
gate  the  most  dangerous  rivers  and  lakes  of 
four  or  five  hundred  leagues  around.  I  have 
thus  made  many  voyages  without  having  run 
any  risk.  Only  once,  that  in  crossing  the  river 
Saint  Lawrence,  I  found  myself  suddenly  sur 
rounded  with  masses  of  ice  of  enormous  size, 
and  the  canoe  was  wedged  in  them  ;  at  once  the 
two  savages  who  conducted  me  cried  out,  cWe 
are  dead  men ;  it  is  done ;  we  must  perish/  in 
the  meantime,  making  an  effort,  they  leaped 
upon  the  floating  ice.  I  did  like  them,  and 
after  having  drawn  up  the  canoe  we  carried  it 
to  the  extremity  of  this  ice.  Then  it  was 
necessary  for  us  to  place  ourselves  again  in  the 
canoe  to  gain  another  ice  cake ;  we  arrived  at 
last  at  the  bank  of  the  stream  without  other  in 
convenience  than  being  very  wet  and  numb 
with  cold.  Nothing  equals  the  affection  which 
the  savages  have  for  their  children.  As  soon 
as  they  are  born,  they  place  them  on  a  little 


[  109  I 

piece  of  board  covered  with  cloth  and  a  little 
bearskin,  in  which  they  envelop  them,  and  this 
is  their  cradle.  The  mothers  carry  them  on 
their  back  in  a  manner  convenient  for  the  chil 
dren  and  for  them.  Hardly  do  the  children 
begin  to  walk  when  they  are  trained  to  draw 
the  bow.  They  become  so  adroit  in  this,  that 
at  the  age  of  ten  or  twelve  years  they  do  not 
fail  to  kill  the  bird  that  they  shoot  at.  I  have 
been  surprised  at  it,  and  I  should  have  hardly 
believed  it  if  I  had  not  been  witness  of  it. 

"  That  which  I  most  revolted  at  when  I  be 
gan  to  live  with  the  savages  was  to  find  myself 
obliged  to  take  my  repast  with  them ;  nothing 
is  more  disgusting.  After  having  filled  their 
pot  with  meat  they  make  it  boil,  at  the  most, 
three-quarters  of  an  hour,  after  which  they  take 
it  from  the  fire,  serve  it  in  bark  porringers  and 
divide  it  with  all  those  who  are  in  the  cabin. 
Each  one  bites  into  his  meat  as  he  would  into 
a  piece  of  bread.  This  spectacle  did  not  give 
me  much  appetite,  and  they  very  soon  noticed 
my  repugnance.  c  Why  dost  thou  not  eat  ? ' 
they  asked.  I  replied  to  them  that  I  was  not 
accustomed  to  eat  meat  thus,  without  adding  to 
it  a  piece  of  bread.  '  It  is  necessary  to  conquer 


[  no] 

thyself/  they  replied ;  *  is  it  so  difficult  as  to  be 
a  patriarch  who  knows  prayer  perfectly  ?  We 
overcome  a  great  deal  to  believe  that  which  we 
cannot  see/  After  this  there  was  no  more  to 
consider.  It  was  best  to  bring  one's  self  to 
their  manners  and  customs  in  order  to  merit 
their  confidence  and  gain  them  to  Jesus  Christ. 

"  Their  meals  are  not  regular  as  in  Europe. 
They  live  from  hand  to  mouth  ;  whilst  they 
have  somewhat  from  which  to  make  good  cheer, 
they  profit  by  it,  without  troubling  themselves 
about  having  anything  to  live  on  the  following 
days. 

"  They  passionately  love  tobacco  ;  men,  wo 
men,  children  smoke  almost  continually.  To 
give  them  a  piece  of  tobacco,  is  to  give  them 
more  pleasure  than  to  give  them  their  weight 
in  gold. 

"  In  the  beginning  of  June,  and  when  the 
snow  is  nearly  all  melted,  they  sow  the  scamgar. 
This  is  what  we  call  Turkey  or  Indian  wheat. 
Their  style  of  sowing  is  to  make  with  the 
fingers  or  with  a  little  stick,  different  holes  in 
the  ground,  and  to  throw  in  each  eight  or  nine 
kernels,  which  they  cover  with  the  same  earth 
which  they  have  withdrawn  to  make  the  hole. 


[  I"  ] 

Their  harvest  takes  place  at  the  end  of  August. 
"  It  is  in  the  midst  of  these  people,  who  pass 
for  the  least  coarse  of  our  savages,  that  I  passed 
the  apprenticeship  of  a  missionary.  My  prin 
cipal  occupation  was  the  study  of  their  tongue  ; 
it  is  very  difficult  to  learn,  above  all  when  one 
has  no  other  master  than  savages.  They  have 
many  sounds  which  they  only  utter  from  the 
throat,  without  making  any  movement  of  the 
lips ;  ouy  for  example,  is  of  this  number,  and 
this  is  why  in  writing  it,  we  make  it  by  the 
figure  8,  to  distinguish  it  from  other  sounds. 
I  passed  a  part  of  a  year  in  their  cabins  and 
heard  them  talk.  It  was  necessary  for  me  to 
maintain  extreme  attention,  to  gather  what  they 
said,  and  to  conjecture  the  signification  of  it. 
Sometimes  I  guessed  right,  more  often  I  de- 
cieved  myself,  because  not  very  able  to  man 
age  their  guttural  letters.  I  repeated  only  part 
of  the  word,  and  this  made  them  laugh.  At 
last,  after  five  months  of  continual  application, 
I  reached  the  point  of  understanding  all  their 
terms,  but  that  was  not  sufficient  for  me  to  ex 
press  myself  according  to  their  taste.  I  had 
still  a  good  way  to  go  to  catch  the  scope  and 
genius  of  their  tongue,  which  is  altogether  dif- 


ferent  from  the  genius  and  scope  of  our  Euro 
pean  languages.  To  shorten  the  time  and  to 
put  myself  sooner  in  a  state  to  exercise  my 
functions,  I  made  choice  of  some  savages  who 
had  more  wit  and  spoke  better.  I  told  them 
roughly  some  articles  of  the  catechism,  and 
they  rendered  them  to  me  in  all  the  delicacy  of 
their  language.  I  put  them  at  once  on  paper, 
and  by  this  means  I  made  myself  in  a  little 
while  a  dictionary  and  a  catechism  which  con 
tained  the  principles  and  the  mysteries  of  re 
ligion. 

"  One  cannot  deny  that  the  language  of  the 
savages  has  true  beauties,  and  I  know  not  what 
of  energy,  in  the  turn  and  manner  in  which 
they  express  themselves.  I  am  going  to  give 
you  an  example  of  it.  If  I  should  ask  you, 
Why  has  God  created  you  ?  You  would  re 
ply  to  me,  that  it  is  to  know  him,  to  love  him, 
and  by  this  means  to  merit  eternal  glory.  But 
should  I  put  the  same  question  to  a  savage,  he 
would  reply  to  me  thus,  in  the  terms  of  his  lan 
guage  :  The  great  Spirit  has  thought  of  us  :  Let 
them  know  me,  let  them  love  me,  let  them 
honor  me,  and  let  them  obey  me;  for  then  I 
shall  make  them  enter  into  my  glorious  felicity. 


[  H3  ] 

If  I  should  wish  to  tell  you  in  their  style  that 
you  would  have  much  difficulty  in  learning  the 
savage  tongue,  see  how  it  would  be  necessary 
for  me  to  express  myself:  I  think  of  you  my 
dear  brother,  that  he  will  find  difficulty  in  learn 
ing  the  savage  tongue.  The  language  of  the 
Hurons  is  the  master  language  of  the  savages  ; 
and  when  one  possesses  it,  in  less  than  three 
months  one  can  make  himself  understood  by 
the  five  Iroquois  nations.  It  is  the  most  ma 
jestic  and  the  most  difficult  of  all  the  savage 
tongues.  This  difficulty  does  not  come  alone 
from  their  guttural  character,  but  still  more  from 
the  diversity  of  accents,  because  two  words  com 
posed  of  the  same  characters  have  significations 
quite  different.  Father  Chaumont,  who  has 
dwelt  fifty  years  among  the  Hurons,  has  com 
posed  a  grammar  of  it,  which  is  very  useful  to 
those  who  newly  arrive  in  that  mission  ;  never 
theless  a  missionary  is  most  happy  when,  with 
those  helps,  after  ten  years'  constant  labor,  he 
expresses  himself  elegantly  in  this  language.  .  . 
"  This  mission  is  about  eight  leagues  from 
Pentagouet,  and  they  count  it  a  hundred  leagues 
from  Pentagouet  to  Port  Royal.  The  river  of 
my  mission  is  the  greatest  of  all  those  which 


[  "4] 

water  the  lands  of  the  savages.  It  should  be 
marked  on  the  chart,  under  the  name  of  Kini- 
beki ;  which  has  brought  the  French  to  give  to 
these  savages  the  name  of  kanibals.  This  river 
empties  into  the  sea  at  Sankderank,  which  is 
only  five  or  six  leagues  from  Pemquit.  After 
having  ascended  forty  leagues  from  Sankderank, 
one  arrives  at  my  village  which  is  on  the  height 
of  a  point  of  land.  We  are  only  the  distance 
of  two  days  at  the  most  from  the  English  habi 
tation  ;  it  takes  more  than  fifteen  days  for  us  to 
reach  Quebec,  and  the  journey  is  very  painful 
and  difficult.  It  would  be  natural  that  our  sav 
ages  should  do  their  trading  with  the  English, 
and  there  are  no  advantages  which  the  latter 
have  not  offered  them  to  attract  and  to  gain 
their  friendship ;  but  all  their  efforts  have  been 
useless,  and  nothing  has  been  able  to  detach 
them  from  alliance  with  the  French.  The  only 
tie  which  has  so  closely  united  us  with  them  is 
their  firm  attachment  to  the  Catholic  faith. 
They  are  convinced  that  if  they  gave  them 
selves  up  to  the  English,  they  would  very  soon 
find  themselves  without  a  missionary,  without 
sacrifice,  without  a  sacrament,  and  nearly  with 
out  any  exercise  of  religion,  and  that  little  by 


[  "5  ] 

little  they  would  be  plunged  into  their  first  in 
fidelity.  This  firmness  of  our  savages  has 
been  put  to  all  sorts  of  tests  on  the  part  of  their 
powerful  neighbors,  without  their  ever  having 
been  able  to  gain  anything.  .  .  . 

"  It  is  only  in  the  spring  that  they  sow  their 
corn,  and  they  only  give  it  the  last  hoeing  to 
wards  Corpus  Christi  Day.  After  which  they 
deliberate  as  to  what  place  on  the  sea  they  shall 
go  to  seek  something  to  live  upon  till  the  har 
vest,  which  is  not  ordinarily  made  until  a  little 
after  the  Assumption.  After  having  deliberated 
they  send  to  pray  me  to  repair  to  their  as 
sembly.  As  soon  as  I  have  arrived  there,  one 
of  them  speaks  to  me  thus  in  the  name  of  all 
the  others  :  (  Our  Father,  what  I  say  to  thee  is 
what  all  of  those  whom  thou  seest  here  would 
say  to  thee.  Thou  knowest  us,  thou  knowest 
that  we  want  food ;  scarcely  have  we  been  able 
to  give  the  last  hoeing  to  our  fields,  and  we 
have  no  other  resource  until  the  harvest,  but  to 
go  and  seek  food  on  the  shore  of  the  sea.  It 
will  be  hard  for  us  to  abandon  our  prayer ;  that 
is  why  we  hope  that  thou  wilt  accompany  us, 
so  that  in  seeking  something  to  live  upon  we 
shall  not  interrupt  our  prayer.  Such  and  such 


[  "6  ] 

persons  will  embark  thee,  and  that  which  thou 
wilt  have  to  carry  will  be  dispersed  among  the 
other  canoes.  That  is  what  I  have  to  say  to 
thee/  I  have  no  sooner  replied  to  them  Kekik- 
berba  (this  is  a  savage  term  which  means,  I  hear 
you,  my  children,  I  agree  to  what  you  demand), 
then  all  cry  together  our  lour  ie>  which  is  an  ex 
pression  of  thanks.  Immediately  after  they 
leave  the  village." 


EXTRACTS  FROM   RALE'S  LETTER  TO  HIS 
NEPHEW. 

"  Norridgewock 
This  1 5th  October,  1722. 
"  Monsieur,  my  dear  Nephew. 
The  peace  of  Our  Savior: 

"  During  the  more  than  thirty  years  that  I 
have  lived  in  the  heart  of  these  forests  with  the 
Savages,  I  have  been  so  occupied  in  instructing 
them  and  forming  them  to  Christian  virtues, 
that  I  have  but  little  leisure  to  write  many  let 
ters,  even  to  those  who  are  most  dear  to  me. 
Nevertheless  I  cannot  refuse  the  little  details  of 
my  various  duties  which  you  desire.  I  owe  it 
as  an  acknowledgment  of  the  friendship  which 
makes  you  so  strongly  interseted  in  everything 
that  concerns  me. 

"  I  am  in  a  district  of  that  vast  extent  of  land 

which  lies  between  Acadia  and  New  England. 

Two  other  Missionaries  are  occupied  with  me 

among  the  Abnaki  Savages,  but  we  are  far  re- 

117 


[  "8  ] 

moved  from  each  other.  The  Abnaki  Savages, 
beside  the  two  villages  which  are  in  the  centre 
of  the  French  Colony,  have  three  others,  each 
villages  of  considerable  size,  situated  on  the  bank 
of  a  river.  The  three  rivers  empty  into  a  sea 
south  of  the  Canada  river  between  New  Eng 
land  and  Acadia. 

"  The  village  where  I  live  is  called  Nanrant- 
souak;  it  is  situated  on  the  bank  of  a  river 
which  discharges  itself  into  the  sea  about  thirty 
leagues  hence.  I  have  built  a  Church,  which 
is  neat  and  very  ornamental.  I  thought  noth 
ing  ought  to  be  spared  either  for  its  decoration 
nor  for  the  ornaments  which  are  used  at  our 
holy  ceremonies  :  Vestments,  chasubles,  copes, 
sacred  Vessels,  everything  appropriate,  and 
would  be  so  esteemed  in  our  Churches  of 
Europe.  I  have  formed  a  little  Brotherhood 
of  about  forty  young  Savages,  who  assist  at  di 
vine  Service,  in  their  cassocks  and  surplices. 
Each  have  their  duties,  so  many  to  assist  at  the 
holy  Sacrifices  of  the  Mass,  &  to  chant  the 
divine  Office  for  the  Consecration  of  the  Holy 
Sacrament,  &  for  the  processions  which  they 
make  with  a  great  crowd  of  Savages,  who  often 
come  from  long  distance  to  attend  them.  You 


would  be  edified  at  the  great  order  which  they 
keep,  &  the  piety  which  they  show. 

"They  have  built  two  Chapels  at  about  three 
hundred  paces  from  the  village ;  the  one  dedi 
cated  to  the  most  holy  Virgin,  &  where  may  be 
seen  her  Image  in  relief,  is  above  the  river ;  the 
other  dedicated  to  the  guardian  Angel,  is  at  the 
lower  end  of  the  same  river.  Since  they  are 
both  on  the  road  which  leads  either  to  the 
woods  or  into  .the  open  country,  the  Savages 
never  pass  without  offering  their  prayer.  There 
is  a  holy  emulation  among  the  women  of  the 
Village  as  to  who  shall  the  better  decorate  the 
Chapel,  of  which  they  have  the  care,  when  the 
procession  repairs  thither.  All  that  they  have, 
jewels,  pieces  of  silk  or  calico  and  other  things 
of  that  kind  are  used  to  adorn  it. 

"  The  abundance  of  light  adds  not  a  little  to 
the  beauty  of  the  church  and  Chapels  ;  I  have 
no  need  to  be  saving  of  wax,  as  this  country 
furnishes  it  to  me  in  abundance.  The  islands 
of  the  sea  are  bordered  with  wild  laurels,  which 
in  autumn  bear  berries  a  little  like  those  of  the 
Juniper.  They  fill  their  kettles  with  them  and 
boil  them  with  water.  As  soon  as  the  water 
boils,  the  green  wax  rises  &  remains  on  the  sur- 


[    120    ] 

face  of  the  water.  From  a  measure  of  three 
bushels  of  this  berry,  one  obtains  nearly  four 
pounds  of  wax ;  it  is  very  pure  and  very  good, 
but  neither  soft  nor  manageable.  After  several 
attempts  I  have  found  that  by  mixing  as  much 
tallow,  either  of  beef,  mutton  or  moose  as  of  the 
wax,  fine,  hard  &  serviceable  candles  may  be 
made.  With  24  pounds  of  wax  and  as  much 
tallow,  one  can  make  two  hundred  long  candles 
of  more  than  a  foot  in  length.  One  finds  an 
infinity  of  these  laurels  on  the  islands  &  along 
the  sea  coast :  A  single  person  will  easily  pick 
four  measures  in  a  day.  The  berry  hangs  like 
grapes  from  the  branches  of  the  tree.  I  have 
sent  a  branch  to  Quebec  with  a  cake  of  wax ;  it 
has  been  found  excellent. 

"  None  of  my  neophytes  fail  to  repair  twice 
a  day  to  the  Church ;  in  the  early  morning  to 
attend  Mass,  &  in  the  evenings  to  assist  at  the 
prayers  which  I  offer  at  sunset.  As  it  is  neces 
sary  to  fix  the  imagination  of  the  Savages,  too 
easily  distracted,  I  have  composed  suitable  pray 
ers  to  make  them  enter  into  the  spirit  of  the 
August  Sacrifice  of  our  Altars  ;  they  chant  them 
or  properly  recite  them  in  a  loud  voice  during 
Mass.  Besides  the  sermons  that  I  give  them 


[    121    ] 

on  Sundays  and  Holy  Days,  I  scarcely  allow  a 
week  to  pass,  without  giving  a  short  exhorta 
tion,  to  inspire  horror  of  the  vices  to  which 
they  are  most  inclined,  or  to  strengthen  them 
in  the  practice  of  some  virtue. 

"  After  Mass  I  teach  the  Catechism  to  the 
children  and  young  people ;  a  large  number  of 
old  persons  assist  at  this  and  reply  with  docility 
to  the  questions  which  I  ask  them.  The  rest 
of  the  morning  until  noon,  is  devoted  to  hear 
ing  all  who  wish  to  speak  to  me.  It  is  then 
that  they  come  in  crowds  to  make  me  share 
their  pains  and  inquietudes,  or  to  communicate 
to  me  subjects  of  complaint  against  their  coun 
trymen,  or  to  consult  me  about  their  marriages 
&  other  particular  affairs.  It  is  necessary  for 
me  to  instruct  some,  to  console  others,  to  re 
establish  peace  in  families  at  variance,  to  calm 
troubled  consciences,  to  correct  others  by  re 
proofs  mingled  with  gentleness  and  charity,  in 
short,  as  much  as  it  is  possible,  to  render  them 
all  contented. 

"  After  noon  I  visit  the  sick  and  go  around 
among  the  cabins  of  those  who  have  need  of 
particular  instruction.  If  they  hold  a  council, 
a  frequent  occurrence  among  the  Savages,  they 


[  I"  ] 

depute  one  of  the  principal  men  of  the  assembly 
to  beg  me  to  assist  at  the  decision  of  their  de 
liberations.  I  go  as  soon  as  possible  to  the 
place  where  the  council  is  being  held  ;  if  I  judge 
that  they  are  taking  a  wise  course,  I  approve  it ; 
if  on  the  contrary  I  find  anything  to  say  against 
their  decision,  I  declare  to  them  my  opinion, 
which  I  support  by  solid  reasons,  &  they  con 
form  to  it.  My  advice  always  fixes  their  reso 
lutions.  They  do  not  even  hold  their  feasts 
without  inviting  me  ;  those  invited  bring  each  a 
dish  of  wood  or  bark ;  I  give  the  benediction 
on  the  food ;  they  put  in  each  dish  the  portion 
prepared.  The  distribution  being  made,  I  say 
grace,  &  each  retires ;  because  such  is  the  order 
and  custom  of  their  feasts. 

"In  the  midst  of  these  ceaseless  occupations 
you  will  not  find  it  difficult  to  understand  with 
what  rapidity  the  days  slip  by.  There  has  been 
a  time  when  it  was  with  difficulty  that  I  found 
time  to  recite  my  office,  &  to  take  a  little  re 
pose  during  the  night ;  for  discretion  is  not  the 
virtue  of  the  Savages.  But  for  some  years  I 
have  made  it  a  rule  to  speak  to  no  one,  from 
the  evening  prayer  until  after  Mass  the  next 
morning,  &  I  have  forbidden  them  to  interrupt 


me  during  this  time,  unless  it  is  for  some  im 
portant  reason,  as  for  example,  to  assist  a  dying 
person,  or  for  some  other  affair  which  cannot 
be  put  off.  I  employ  this  time  to  pray  and  to 
repose  from  the  fatigue  of  the  day. 

"  When  the  Savages  go  to  the  seashore,  to 
pass  some  months  hunting  ducks,  bustards  and 
other  birds  which  are  found  there  in  great  quan 
tities,  they  build  on  an  island  a  Chapel  which 
they  cover  with  bark,  near  which  they  prepare  a 
little  hut  for  my  dwelling.  I  take  care  to  carry 
there  part  of  the  ornaments,  &  the  service  is 
performed  there  with  the  same  propriety  and 
the  same  crowds  of  people  as  at  the  village. 

"You  see,  my  dear  nephew,  what  are  my 
occupations.  For  as  to  what  regards  me  per 
sonally,  I  will  tell  you  that  I  only  see,  only 
hear,  only  speak  to  Savages.  My  food  is  simple 
and  light.  I  was  never  able  to  adapt  my  taste 
to  the  meat  &  to  the  fish  smoked  by  the  Sav 
ages  ;  my  only  nourishment  is  maize,  which 
they  pound  and  of  which  I  make  every  day  a 
kind  of  pudding  which  I  cook  with  water. 

"  The  only  sweetening  which  I  have  here,  is 
to  mix  with  it  a  little  sugar  to  correct  the  insip 
idity.  This  is  not  wanting  in  these  forests.  In 


[ 

the  spring  time  the  Maples  hold  in  store  a 
liquid  similar  to  that  which  the  sugar  cane  of 
the  Islands  contains.  The  women  occupy  them 
selves  in  collecting  it  in  bark  dishes,  when  the 
trees  distil  it ;  they  boil  it  and  obtain  from  it  a 
fairly  good  sugar.  The  first  distilled  is  always 
the  best. 

"All  the  Abnaki  Nation  is  Christian,  & 
very  zealous  to  preserve  their  Religion.  This 
attachment  to  the  Catholic  Faith,  has  made 
them  up  to  this  time  choose  rather  our  alliance, 
to  the  advantages  that  they  had  drawn  from 
their  alliance  with  the  English  their  neighbors. 
These  advantages  are  very  attractive  to  our 
Savages ;  the  ease  which  they  have  of  trading 
with  the  English,  from  whom  they  are  not  far 
ther  away  than  a  journey  of  one  or  two  days, 
the  convenience  of  the  road,  the  great  market 
which  they  find  for  the  purchase  of  goods  which 
suit  them  ;  nothing  can  be  more  capable  of  at 
tracting  them.  Instead  of  which  going  to  Que 
bec,  more  than  fifteen  days  are  necessary  to 
get  there,  besides  they  have  to  provide  pro 
visions  for  the  journey,  while  they  have  a  num 
ber  of  rivers  to  cross,  and  frequent  portages  to 
make.  They  feel  these  inconveniences,  &  are 


not  indifferent  to  their  interests,  but  their  faith 
is  infinitely  more  dear,  and  they  think  that  if 
they  withdrew  themselves  from  our  alliance, 
they  would  soon  find  themselves  without  Mis 
sionary,  without  Sacraments,  without  Sacrifice, 
without  almost  any  exercise  of  Religion,  and  in 
manifest  danger  of  being  plunged  again  into 
their  former  infidelity. 

"This  is  the  tie  which  binds  them  to  the 
French.  It  has  been  tried  in  vain  to  break  it,  either 
by  traps  which  have  been  held  out  to  their  sim 
plicity,  or  by  acts  of  trespass,  which  could  not 
help  irritating  a  Nation  infinitely  zealous  of  its 
rights  &  of  its  liberty.  These  beginnings  of 
misunderstandings  fail  not  to  alarm  me,  & 
make  me  fear  the  dispersion  of  the  flock,  which 
Providence  has  confided  to  my  care  so  many 
years  &  for  which  I  would  willingly  sacrifice 
that  which  remains  of  my  life.  Observe  the 
various  artifices  which  they  employ  to  detach 
them  from  our  alliance. 

"  An  Englishman  asked  permission  of  the 
Savages  to  build  on  their  river  a  kind  of  store 
house,  to  trade  there  with  them,  &  he  promised 
to  sell  them  goods  at  a  much  greater  bargain 
than  they  had  bought  them  even  at  Boston. 


[    126    ] 

The  Savages  who  would  find  it  to  their  profit, 
&  who  would  save  the  trouble  of  a  journey  to 
Boston,  consented  to  this  willingly.  Another 
Englishman  asked  soon  after  the  same  permis 
sion,  offering  conditions  even  more  favorable 
than  the  first.  It  was  accorded  him  equally. 
This  readiness  of  the  Savages  emboldened  the 
English  to  establish  themselves  along  the  river, 
without  asking  permission ;  they  built  houses 
there,  &  raised  forts  of  which  three  were  of 
stone.  This  proximity  of  the  English  gave 
at  first  pleasure  enough  to  the  Savages,  who  did 
not  perceive  the  trap  which  they  laid  for  them, 
&  who  only  looked  at  the  pleasure  which  they 
had,  in  finding  their  new  guests  all  that  they 
could  desire. 

"  But  at  last,  perceiving  themselves,  insen 
sibly  as  it  were,  surrounded  by  the  habitations 
of  the  English,  they  began  to  open  their  eyes, 
&  to  entertain  distrust.  They  asked  the  Eng 
lish  by  what  right  they  had  established  them 
selves  upon  their  lands,  and  even  built  forts 
there.  The  reply  which  was  made  them,  that 
the  King  of  France  had  ceded  their  country  to 
the  King  of  England,  threw  them  into  great 
alarm,  for  there  is  no  Savage  Nation  which 


[  "7  1 

does  not  suffer  impatiently  what  they  regard  as 
subjection  to  any  power  whatever  it  may  be ; 
they  will  be  called  allies  and  nothing  more. 
This  is  why  the  Savages  immediately  sent  some 
of  their  number  to  M.  le  Marquis  de  Vau- 
dreuil,  Governor  General  of  New  France,  to 
learn  if  it  were  true,  that  in  effect  the  King  had 
thus  disposed  of  a  country  of  which  he  was  not 
the  master.  It  was  not  difficult  to  calm  their  in 
quietude  ;  it  was  only  necessary  to  explain  to 
them  the  articles  of  the  treaty  of  Utrecht  which 
concerned  the  Savages,  &  they  departed  content. 
"About  this  time  a  score  of  Savages  entered 
into  one  of  the  English  houses,  to  trade  or  to 
rest.  They  had  been  there  but  a  short  time, 
when  they  saw  the  house  suddenly  surrounded 
by  a  troop  of  nearly  two  hundred  armed  men. 
c  We  are  dead  men]  suddenly  cried  one  of  them. 
'Let  us  sell  our  lives  dearly. y  They  prepared  to 
throw  themselves  upon  this  troop,  when  the 
English,  perceiving  their  resolution,  and  know 
ing  besides  what  the  Savage  is  capable  of  in  the 
first  access  of  fury,  strove  to  pacify  them,  by 
assuring  them  that  they  had  no  evil  designs, 
and  that  they  had  come  only  to  invite  some  of 
them  to  go  to  Boston,  to  confer  there  with  the 


[    128    ] 

Governor,  on  the  means  of  keeping  peace  and 
good  understanding,  which  should  exist  between 
two  Nations.  The  Savages,  a  little  too  credu 
lous,  deputed  four  of  their  fellow-countrymen 
who  repaired  to  Boston  ;  but  when  they  arrived 
there,  the  conference  with  which  they  were  di 
verted,  ends  in  retaining  them  prisoners." 


LT.  GOVR.  DUMMER  TO  Gov.  VAUDREUIL. 

"Boston  N.  England  January  I9th  1725. 

"Sir 

"  Your  letter  dated  Quebec  October  29th  per 
Henry  Edgar,  one  of  the  English  Captives, 
came  safe  to  me ;  on  perusal  thereof  I  am 
greatly  Surprised  at  the  matters  Contained 
therein,  which  are  so  unjustly  represented,  that 
I  cannot  Satisfy  my  Self  to  pass  them  by  un 
answered.  In  the  first  place  as  to  what  you 
say  relating  to  the  death  of  Monsr.  Ralle  the 
Jesuit,  which  you  set  forth  as  so  Inhumane  & 
Barbarous ;  I  readily  acknowledge  that  he  was 
slain,  amongst  other  of  our  Enemies  at  Nor- 
ridgewalk ;  And  if  he  had  Confined  himself 
unto  the  professed  Duty  of  his  function  viz  to 
Instruct  the  Indians  in  the  Christian  Religion, 
and  kept  himself  within  the  bounds  of  the 
French  Dominions,  and  had  not  Instigated  the 
Indians  to  War  &  Rapine  there  might  then 

have  been  some    ground  of  Complaint;    But 

129 


when  instead  of  Preaching  Peace,  Love  and 
Friendship  Agreeable  to  the  Doctrines  of  the 
Christian  Religion,  he  has  been  a  Constant  and 
Notorious  Fomenter  &  Incendiary  to  the  In 
dians  to  kill,  burn  &  Destroy,  as  flagrantly 
appears  by  many  original  letters  &  manuscripts, 
I  have  of  his  by  me,  and  when  in  open  Viola 
tion  of  an  Act  of  Parliament  of  Great  Britain, 
and  the  Laws  of  this  Province  strictly  forbid 
ding  Jesuits  to  reside  or  teach  within  the  British 
Dominions,  he  has  not  only  resided  but  also 
once  &  again  appeared  at  the  head  of  great 
numbers  of  Indians,  in  an  Hostile  manner 
threatening  and  Insulting,  as  also  publickly 
assaulting  the  subjects  of  His  British  Majesty; 
I  say,  If  after  all,  such  an  Incendiary  has  hap 
pened  to  be  slain  in  the  heat  of  Action,  among 
our  Open  and  Declared  Enemies,  surely  none 
can  be  blamed  therefor  but  himself,  nor  can 
any  safeguard  from  you  or  any  other  Justify 
him  in  such  proceedings  :  And  I  think  I  have 
much  greater  Cause  to  Complain,  that  Mr. 
Willard  the  minister  of  Rutland  (who  never 
had  been  guilty  of  the  Facts  charged  upon  Mr. 
Ralle,  &  applied  himself  solely  to  the  preach 
ing  of  the  Gospel)  was  by  the  Indians  you  sent 


to  Attack  that  Town  Assaulted,  slain  and  scalpt, 
and  his  scalp  carried  in  Triumph  to  Quebec. 

"  As  to  the  next  article  you  mention,  That 
St.  Georges  River  was  in  the  year  1700  by 
order  of  the  Two  Crowns  Marked  as  the 
bounds  of  the  English  and  French  Lands  where 
by  it  appeared  That  Penobscot  was  given  to 
you,  and  that  one  La  Fevre  had  a  right  to  the 
Land  thereabouts,  &  that  all  Vessels  paid  a  Duty 
to  him,  And  that  Mr.  Capon  Envoy  of  Eng 
land  when  King  George  came  upon  the  Throne, 
went  to  ask  the  Penobscot  Indians  to  submit 
themselves  to  England,  which  they  refused.  I 
have  no  difficulty  to  Answer  to  each  of  the 
aforesd  Points  ;  And  as  to  the  last  relating  to 
Mr.  Capon  you  Labour  under  a  very  great 
Mistake  to  mention  him  as  Envoy  of  England, 
he  being  far  below  any  such  Character,  and 
only  an  Inferior  Officer,  Comissary  or  Victual 
ler  to  the  Garrison  of  Annapolis,  &  sometime 
after  was  taken  &  yielded  up  to  the  English, 
sent  by  Lieutenant  Govr.  of  that  place  to  visit 
the  French  settlements  within  that  District  & 
to  require  an  Oath  of  Allegiance  and  Fidelity 
from  them  to  Queen  Anne ;  but  he  had  no  oc 
casion  to  Come  and  Entice  the  Penobscot  Indi- 


[    13*    ] 

ans  to  submit  themselves  to  England,  for  they 
as  well  as  the  Norridgewalk  Indians  &  many 
other  Tribes  had  done  that  long  before  even  in 
the  year  1693  at  a  Treaty  of  Sr.  William 
Phipps  Governor  of  this  Province,  by  which 
Treaty,  I  can  make  it  appear,  that  they  not 
only  submitted  themselves  as  subjects  to  the 
crown  of  England,  but  also  renounced  the  French 
Interest  &  Limited  Claim  to  the  Lands  bought 
and  possessed  by  the  English ;  But  since  King 
George  came  to  the  Throne,  Mr.  Capon  has 
not  been  in  those  parts  at  all,  as  I  am  Informed 
by  the  People  of  that  Country. 

"  As  to  St.  Georges  River  being  the  bounds 
and  La  Fevre's  pretended  Right  it  seems  very 
wonderful  you  should  make  any  mention  of 
those  things  or  lay  any  weight  upon  them  at 
this  time,  when  if  the  Case  were  formerly  as  you 
now  represent  it,  which  I  do  not  allow,  all  such 
claim  and  pretension  is  wholly  superceded  and 
at  an  end ;  whereof  you  may  soon  and  easily 
satisfy  yourself  by  consulting  the  Treaty  of 
Peace  at  Utrecht  Concluded  between  the  two 
Crowns  in  the  year  17 13,  by  the  twelfth  Article 
whereof  it  is  provided,  (  That  all  Nova  Scotia  or 
L'Accadie  with  its  Ancient  Boundaries  &c.  to- 


[  133  ] 

gether  with  the  Dominion  property  &  posses 
sion  of  the  sd  Islands  Lands  &  places,  and  all 
right  to  which  the  Most  Christian  King,  the 
Crown  of  France,  or  any  the  subjects  thereof 
have  hitherto  had  to  the  Islands  Lands  &  places, 
and  the  Inhabitants  of  the  same  are  Yielded  & 
made  over  to  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  &  to 
her  Crown  forever/  Now  by  the  aforesd  Res 
ignation,  the  French  King  Quitted  all  Right 
not  only  to  the  Lands,  but  also  to  the  Inhabi 
tants  whether  French  or  Indians,  or  whatsoever 
they  were  &  transferred  the  same  to  the  Crown 
of  Great  Britain  forever,  whereby  you  are  En 
tirely  Cutt  off  from  any  Claim  to  the  subjection 
of  the  said  Indians,  from  thence  forward;  And 
we  are  not  ignorant  how  far  the  French  King 
understood  the  Countrey  of  L'Accadie  to  Ex 
tend  Westward  by  his  patent  Granted  to 
Monsr.  D'Alney  tho  you  seem  to  be  a  stranger 
to  it. 

"As  to  the  whole  Nation  of  the  Indians  Ex 
claiming  against  some  of  their  Tribe,  as  pre 
tending  that  they  were  suborned  to  give  Deeds 
for  their  Lands,  if  it  be  matter  of  Fact,  that  they 
do  so,  which  is  hard  to  be  Conceived,  it  is  a 
most  unjust  Imputation,  &  must  Argue  a  won- 


[  134] 

derful  Deceitfulness  &  self  Contradiction  in 
them,  since  they  have  upon  all  Treatys  when 
the  whole  Tribes  were  together  Constantly  ac 
knowledged  and  submitted  to  the  English  Titles 
and  possessions,  which  they  had  by  honest  and 
Lawful  purchase  Acquired. 

"As  to  the  Building  of  Forts  any  where  with 
in  the  British  Dominions  I  suppose  that  you 
will  not  scruple  to  acknowledge  that  the  King  of 
Great  Britain  has  as  good  a  right  to  Erect  Fort 
resses  or  places  of  Defence  within  His  Do 
minions,  as  the  French  King  has  in  his  And 
therefore  when  you  shall  please  to  Give  me 
Instances  of  the  French  Kings  Applying  him 
self  to  the  Indians  for  leave  to  build  a  Fort  or 
Forts  for  the  Defence  of  His  Subjects  I  shall 
then  give  you  a  further  Answer  to  that  Argu 
ment.  And  in  the  meantime  I  must  tell  you 
that  we  have  always  treated  the  Indians  with 
sincerity,  &  never  thought  it  proper  to  make 
Apologies  for  Building  Forts  within  our  own 
Jurisdiction  (as  you  Insinuate)  but  on  the  Con 
trary  in  all  our  Treatys  with  them  have  As- 
certed  our  undoubted  right  to  do  so. 

"  You  likewise  signify  that  we  must  Blame 
no  body  but  our  selves  for  the  Violence  and 


Hostilities  Committed  against  Our  nation  by 
the  Indians.  But  syr,  If  the  blame  must  lye 
where  it  ought  I  must  Impute  their  Outrages, 
falsness  &  111  Conduct  towards  us,  not  so 
much  to  their  own  Inclinations,  as  to  the  In 
stigations  of  the  Jesuit  Ralle  &  others  Under 
your  Government,  whereof  we  have  had  suf 
ficient  Information  from  time  to  time,  as  also  of 
your  own  forcing  the  Indians  against  their 
Wills  upon  our  Frontiers  to  destroy  &  Cutt  of 
our  People  which  Cannot  be  otherwise  lookt 
upon  except  as  a  direct  &  Notorious  Violation 
of  the  Treaty  of  Peace  at  Utrecht. 

"  Nevertheless  Sir,  After  All,  I  have  much 
greater  Inclination  to  Amity  &  good  Corre 
spondence  with  you  than  otherwise,  And  there 
fore  I  have  sent  Collo.  Samuel  Thurber  one  of 
His  Majesties  Council,  and  Collo.  William 
Dudley  one  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
who  are  Commissioned  to  Confer  with  you 
Pursuant  to  such  Instructions  as  they  have  re 
ceived  from  me ;  And  I  Desire  that  you  will 
Give  CREDENCE  to  them  accordingly. 
I  am.  Sir, 

Your  Most  Humble  & 
Most  Obedt  Servant 

Wm.  Dummer." 


RALfi'S  DICTIONARY— INSCRIPTION  ON 
RALE'S    CHURCH  — HISTORICAL    COM 
MENTS—THE    TWELFTH    ARTICLE    OF 
THE  TREATY  OF  UTRECHT 


THE  LATE  REV.  MICHAEL  O'BRIEN,  V.G. 
An  authority  on  the  language  and  dialects  of  the  Indians  of  Maine. 


Rale's   Dictionary. 


THE  Abenaki  dictionary  which  was 
being  prepared  by  Rale,  and  which  was 
taken  by  Colonel  Westbrook  and  after 
wards  published,  is  practically  the  foundation 
of  what  knowledge  scholars  now  have  of  the  lan 
guage  of  the  Maine  Indians.  The  late  Rev. 
Michael  Charles  O'Brien,  Vicar  General  of 
Bangor,  Maine,  was  probably  the  most  pro 
found  student  of  Indian  dialects  and  tribal  his 
tory  that  has  ever  lived  in  Maine.  His  re 
searches  in  this  respect  attracted  the  attention 
of  men  of  letters  and  learning  all  over  New 
England,  and  especially  were  the  late  James 
G.  Blaine  and  the  late  Chief  Justice  John  A. 
Peters  interested  in  his  work. 

On  December  23,  1882,  he  read  a  most  able 
and  entertaining  paper  before  the  Maine  His 
torical  Society  at  Portland,  which  has  been 

141 


published  in  the  "  Collections  of  the  Maine  His 
torical  Society  (Vol.  IX,  page  261),  entitled, 
"  Grammatical  Sketch  of  the  Ancient  Abnaki, 
Outlined  in  the  Dictionary  of  Father  Sebastian 
Rale,  S.  J."  The  following  are  extracts  from 
this  paper: 

"  My  principal  sources  of  materials  for  the 
study  are  the  c  Dictionary  of  the  Abnaki/ 
written  by  Father  Sebastian  Rale,  S.  J.,  and  the 
old  Indian  prayers  and  catechism,  yet  in  use  (in 
a  modified  form)  among  the  Penobscots  and 
Passamaquoddies,  which  probably  are  the  work 
of  the  same  author. 

"  The  field  has  been  already  traversed  by 
other  students,  but  so  little  has  been  gleaned 
from  it  that  it  may  be  said  to  be  yet  almost 
untouched. 

"The  dictionary  was  in  the  hands  of  Dupon- 
ceau  and  Pickering,  and  others  of  less  note,  but 
it  has  hitherto  remained  a  sealed  book  so  far  as 
the  grammatical  outline  of  the  aboriginal  lan 
guage  of  Maine,  which  may  be  read  in  its  pages, 
is  concerned.  The  little  catechism,  which  the 
Indians  call  from  its  first  question,  the  Aweni 
Kisi  hoskesa  (Who  made  thee )  ?  and  the  old 
formulas  of  prayer  have  been  published  by 


[  143  ] 

Fathers  Demilier  and  Vetromile,  and  are  extant 
in  manuscript  in  the  handwriting  of  the  former. 
These  serve  chiefly  as  illustrations,  and  supple 
ment  in  several  particulars  some  of  the  defi 
ciencies  of  the  dictionary,  which  is  my  main 
authority. 

"  This  dictionary  consists  of  about  7,500  dis 
tinct  Abnaki  words,  with  the  meanings  of  nearly 
all  of  them  in  French ;  but  on  every  page  it 
contains  grammatical  notes, examples  and  Indian 
phrases.  These  phrases  would  fill  a  dozen  or 
more  pages  of  foolscap  paper.  The  grammati 
cal  notes  consist  not  merely  of  marks  of  singular 
and  plural,  indications  of  moods,  tenses,  and 
persons,  but  also  several  short  grammatical  ob 
servations  in  Latin. 

"  Scattered  as  all  these  bits  of  information  are 
up  and  down  the  pages,  and  applied  to  so  many 
different  words,  they  at  first  only  bewilder  the 
curious  reader.  But  when  the  words  to  which 
they  are  severally  appended  are  classified  and 
compared,  and  the  principles  of  grammatical 
induction  are  introduced  to  complete  the  pro 
cess,  they  furnish  at  least  an  outline  more  or 
less  distinct  of  the  language  to  which  they  re 
fer.  Of  a  certain  portion  of  the  grammar,  that 


[  144  ] 

especially  to  which  this  paper  will  extend,  the 
outline  is  very  clear  and  full.  Until  such  an 
outline  shall  be  studied,  the  language  of  the 
Abnakis  will  continue  to  remain  the  puzzle  it 
has  been  hitherto,  notwithstanding  all  that  has 
been  written  and  published  concerning  it."  * 

*  In  this  paper  the  author  gives  the,  alphabet  employed 
by  Father  Rale  of  the  following  letters:  a,  b,  d,  e,  g,  h,  i, 
j,  k,  m,  n,  o,  p,  r,  s,  t,  8,  z  and  n  nasal,  and  the  pause  or 
aspirate, '. 


Rale's  Inscription  on  the 
Outer  Door  of  his  Church 

Found  by  Colonel  Thomas  Westbrook  when  he 
made  his  raid^  1721-22. 

"  Englishmen. 

"  I  that  am  of  Norridgewock  have  had 
thoughts  that  thou  wil't  Come  and  Burn  our 
Church  and  Our  Father's  House  to  revenge 
thyself  without  cause  for  the  houses  I  have 
burnt  of  thine.  It  was  thou  that  didst  force 
me  to  it,  why  didst  thou  build  them  upon  my 
Land  without  my  Consent. 

"  I  have  not  yet  burned  any,  but  what  was 
upon  my  land;  Thou  mayest  burn  it,  because 
thou  knowest  that  I  am  not  there,  such  is  thy 
Generosity,  for  if  I  were  there,  Assuredly  thou 
shouldst  not  burn  it,  although  thou  shouldst 
Come  with  the  number  of  many  hundred  Men. 

"  It  is  ill  built,  because  the  English  don't 
work  well ;  It  is  not  finished,  although  five  or 

MS 


[  H6  ] 

six  Englishmen  have  wrought  there  during  the 
space  of  four  years,  and  the  Undertaker  who  is 
a  great  Cheat,  hath  been  paid  in  advance  for  to 
finish  it.  I  tell  thee,  Nevertheless,  That,  if  thou 
dost  burn  it  in  revenge  upon  my  land,  thou  may- 
est  depend  upon  it,  That  I  will  Revenge  my 
self  also,  and  that  upon  thy  Land  in  such  a 
manner  as  will  be  more  sensible  and  more  dis 
advantageous  to  thee  for  one  of  thy  Meeting 
houses  or  Temples  is  of  more  value  beyond 
Compare  than  our  Church.  And  I  shall  not 
be  satisfied  with  burning  one  or  two  of  thine, 
but  many ;  I  know  where  they  are,  and  the 
Effect  shall  make  thee  know  that  I  have  been 
as  good  as  my  word. 

"  This  shall  Certainly  be  done  sooner  or 
later,  for  the  War  is  but  just  beginning  ;  And  if 
thou  wouldst  know  where  it  will  have  an  End 
I  tell  thee  it  will  not  have  an  end  but  with  the 
world.  If  thou  canst  not  be  driven  out  before  I 
dye,  Our  Children  and  Nephews  will  Continue 
it  till  that  time,  without  thy  being  able  to 
Enjoy  it  peaceably. 

"  This  is  what  I  say  to  thee,  who  am  of  Nor- 
ridgewock  in  the  name  of  all  the  Nation."  * 

*From  Baxter's   "Pioneers  of  New   France    in   New 
England." 


COMMENTS  OF  HISTORICAL 
WRITERS 


OLD  FORT  HALIFAX 
Winslow,  Me.,  near  Ticonic  Falls 


Comments  of  Historical 
Writers 


DURING  these  discussions  the  Indians, 
who  had  been  instigated  by  the  French, 
again  gave  cause  for  difficulties.    The 
chief  villain  in  this  scheme  was  Sebastian  Rasles 
(Rale),  a  Jesuit  missionary,  who  had  falsely  ac 
cused  the  New  England  colonists  of  encroaching 
on  territory  belonging  to  the  tribes."  —  George 
Lowell  Austin  s  "History  of  Massachusetts." 

"  Sebastian  Rasle  (Rale)  succeeded  the  bigots 
in  the  mission  to  N  orridgewock.  He  was  a 
gentleman  by  birth,  education  and  culture.  Re 
ligious  zeal  incited  him,  also,  to  leave  the  en 
dearments  of  a  home  of  opulence  and  congenial 
companionship,  and  to  spend  thirty-five  years 
in  the  then  unbroken  wilderness  of  Maine.  His 
remarkable  character  deserves  more  particular 


[  is*  ] 

notice."  —  Abbot's  "  History  of  Maine  "  (2d  Ed.) 
page  171. 

"At  Norridgewock,  on  the  banks  of  the 
Kennebec,  the  venerable  Sebastian  Rale,  for  more 
than  a  quarter  of  a  century  the  companion  and 
instructor  of  savages,  had  gathered  a  flourishing 
village,  founded  a  church,  which,  rising  in  the 
desert,  made  some  pretentions  to  magnificence. 
Severely  ascetic,  —  using  no  wine,  little  food  ex 
cept  pounded  maize,  —  a  rigorous  observer  of 
the  days  of  Lent,  —  he  built  his  own  cabin,  tilled 
his  own  garden,  drew  himself  wood  and  water, 
prepared  his  own  hominy,  and,  distributing  all 
he  received,  gave  an  example  of  religious  pov 
erty."  —  Bancroft's  "History  of  the  Colonization 
of  the  United  States,  Vol.  j,  p. 


"  Rale,  the  famous  Jesuit,  was  deemed  the 
principal  instigator  of  these  insults.  He  was  a 
man  of  talents  and  learning  ;  and  by  his  condes 
cending  manner,  religious  zeal  and  untiring  per 
severance,  he  had  greatly  endeared  himself  to 
his  tribe.  He  had  resided  with  them  and  had 
been  their  tutelar  father  thirty  years  ;  and  many 
of  them  he  had  taught  to  read  and  write.  To 


render  their  devotion  an  incentive  to  violence, 
it  is  said,  he  kept  a  banner  figured  with  a  cross, 
which  was  encircled  by  bows  and  arrows,  and  while 
he  was  giving  them  absolution  before  they  pro 
ceeded  to  war  or  upon  any  hostile  expedition,  he 
was  in  the  habit  of  suspending  the  flag  from  a 
tall  standard  at  the  door  of  his  chapel ;  aware  of 
the  advantages  gained,  if  he  could  give  every  bold 
sally  of  the  Indians  the  character  of  a  crusade. 
"Fond  of  epistolary  correspondence,  he  kept 
up  a  constant  intercourse  with  Vaudreuil,  the 
Governor  of  Canada,  giving  him  an  account  of 
every  settlement,  fort  or  other  enterprise  com 
menced  by  the  English."  —  Williamson  s  "  His 
tory  of  Maine"  Vol.  2  ^  page  101. 

A  PART  OF  CHARLEVOIX'S  EULOGY. 

"  Father  Rale  was  of  good  family  in  Franche- 
Comte,  and  died  in  his  sixty-seventh  year ;  he 
was  of  a  robust  constitution,  but  fasting  and  con 
tinual  hardships  had  greatly  enfeebled  him,  espe 
cially  after  the  accident  which  befell  him  nineteen 
years  before. 

"In  that  long  and  tedious  illness,  I  often  ad 
mired  his  patience,  and  we  could  not  see  how  he 


[  154] 

could  endure  such  a  cruel  operation  without 
uttering  a  single  cry. 

"He  knew  almost  all  the  languages  spoken 
in  this  vast  continent,  and  he  had  labored  for  the 
salvation  of  almost  all  the  nations  that  inhabit 
it. 

"  Three  years  before  his  death,  on  his  su 
perior  suggesting  that  it  was  time  for  him  to 
withdraw  from  the  fury  of  England,  who  had 
sworn  to  destroy  him,  he  replied  that  his  meas 
ures  were  taken.  c  God  has  confided  his  flock 
to  me,  I  will  follow  its  lot,  too  happy  to  lay 
down  my  life  for  it/  He  often  repeated  the  same 
thing  to  his  Neophites."  —  Charlevoix's  "  His 
tory  of  New  France"  (1900),  Vol.  5>$age  281. 

"  Rale  was  of  a  strong,  enduring  form  and  a 
keen,  vehement,  caustic  spirit,  and  of  the  genu 
ineness  of  his  zeal  there  is  no  doubt,  nor  of  his 
earnest  and  lively  interest  in  the  fortunes  of  the 
wilderness  flock  of  which  he  was  the  shepherd 
for  half  of  his  life.  The  situation  was  critical  for 
them  and  for  him.  The  English  settlements  were 
but  a  short  distance  below,  while  those  of  the 
French  could  be  reached  only  by  a  hard  journey 
of  twelve  or  fourteen  days."  —  "A  Half  Cen- 


[  155  ] 
tury  of  Conflict"  by  Francis  Parkman,  Vol.  iypage 

211. 

"  Father  Rasles  had  been  dead  for  almost  half 
a  century  when  the  papal  suppression  of  the 
Jesuits  took  effect.  He  must  have  become  a 
member  of  that  order  during  its  golden  period, 
when  Jesuit  professors  and  tutors  were  in  their 
greatest  efficiency  and  most  commanding  repu 
tation,  when  the  youth  under  their  direction  were 
candidates,  not  only  for  membership  in  what  was 
distinctly  the  most  learned  and  influential  order 
in  Christendom,  but  for  special  service  under  the 
direction  of  that  order,  according  to  individual 
character  and  ability. 

"  Rasles  was,  of  course,  trained  in  the  old  faith, 
and  in  opposition  to  the  reforming  ideas.  He 
was  of  the  Franche-Comte,  the  same  department 
to  which  our  associate,  Mr.  Allen,  traces  the 
Huguenot  settlers  in  what  is  now  Dresden.  He 
could  not  have  failed  to  be  deeply  impressed  with 
the  fact  that  the  papal  programme  of  his  day  an 
nounced  two  leading  aims,  namely,  the  extirpa 
tion  of  heresy,  even  by  means  of  persecution,  and 
the  conversion  of  the  heathen  in  America,  even 
at  the  cost  of  martyrdom.  No  doubt  Father 


[  156  ] 

Rasles  was  heartily  in  accord  with  both  these 
aims. 

"  The  History  of  French  and  English  coloni 
zation  in  the  New  World,  taken  by  itself,  is  not 
an  edifying  story  of  peaceful  competition.  It  is 
very  largely  a  military  history ;  but  merged  in 
the  history  of  Europe,  of  which  it  was  a  subor 
dinate  part,  it  offers  the  distressing  spectacle  of 
adventurous  and  loyal  subjects  always  exposed, 
never  adequately  supported,  harassed  in  their 
common  industries  by  savage  incursions,  or 
turned  aside  into  forlorn,  if  not  futile,  military 
expeditions,  while  from  time  to  time  the  petty 
raiding  is  exchanged  for  something  approaching 
the  dignity  of  civilized  warfare,  when  the  great 
protagonists  display  their  colors  upon  the  field. 

"  From  the  year  of  Rasles'  arrival,  at  the  be 
ginning  of  what  is  called  King  William's  War, 
down  to  the  surrender  of  Canada  to  the  English, 
settled  by  treaty  in  1763,  war  between  France 
and  England  is  the  regular  order,  though  there 
was  one  breathing  time  of  considerable  duration, 
for  the  contestants  to  recover  their  strength,  after 
the  treaty  of  Utrecht,  1713,  which  ended  what 
here  was  c  Queen  Anne's  War,'  and  in  Europe 
the  War  of  the  Spanish  Succession."  —  F.  C. 


[  157  ] 

CummingSy  in  the  "  Collections  of  the  Maine  His 
torical  Society"  Series  //,  Vol.  IV,  page  146. 

The  following  inscription  is  upon  the  South 
side  of  the  Rale  monument : 

"  Rev.  Sebastianus  Rasles  natione  Galluse  So- 
cietate  Jesu  Missionarius,  per  aliquot  annos  II- 
lionois  et  Huronibus  primum  evangelanus,deinde 
per  34  annos  Abenaquis,  fide  et  charitate  Christi 
verus  Apostolus,  periculis  armorum  intenitus  se 
pro  suis  Ovibus  mori  paratum  soepius  testificans, 
inter  arma  et  cocdes  ac  Pagi  Nantrantsouak  Nor- 
ridgewock,  et  Ecclesiae  suae  minas,  hoc  in  ipso 
loco,  cecidit  tandem  optimus  Pastor,  die  23  Au- 
gusti,  A.  D.  1724.  Ipsi  et  films  suis  in  Christo 
defunctis  Monumentum  hoc  posuit  Benedictus 
Fenwick,  Episcopus  Bostoniensis  dedicavitque 
23  Augusti,  A.  D.  1833.  A-  M-  D-  G-" 

The  English  translation  is  : 

"  Rev.  Sebastian  Ralle,  a  French  Jesuit  mis 
sionary,  for  many  years  the  first  evangelist  among 
the  Illinois  and  Hurons,  and  afterwards  for  thirty- 
four  years  a  true  apostle  in  the  faith  and  love  of 
Christ,  among  the  Abenakies,  —  unterrified  by 
danger,  and  often  by  his  pure  character,  giving 


C  158  ] 

witness  that  he  was  prepared  for  death,  —  this 
most  excellent  pastor,  on  the  23  d  day  of  August, 
1724,  fell  in  this  place,  at  the  time  of  the  de 
struction  and  slaughter  of  the  town  of  Norridge- 
wock,  and  the  dangers  to  his  church.  To  him, 
and  to  his  children,  dead  in  Christ,  Benedict  Fen- 
wick,  Bishop  at  Boston,  has  erected  and  dedicated 
this  monument,  this  2jd  of  August,  A.  D.  1833." 
—  Hanson  s  "  History  of  Norridgewock  and  Ca 
naan"  published  in  1849,  PaSe  47' 

Hon.  Turner  Buswell,  of  Solon,  Maine,  in  a 
letter  to  the  author,  describes  this  monument  as 
follows : 

"  The  monument  is  a  plain  granite,  pyramidal 
shaft  or  obelisk,  eleven  feet  in  height,  and  three 
feet  square  at  the  base,  standing  on  a  table  stone 
five  feet  in  height  and  four  feet  square.  An  iron 
cross,  four  feet  in  height,  surmounts  the  shaft." 

RALE'S  CHAPEL  BELL. 

"  As  the  dim  light  of  the  lofty  ceiled  room 
where  it  reposes  in  silence,  but  for  the  touch 
of  strange  hands,  falls  upon  it,  visions  of  ascetic 
vigil,  savage  tumult  and  massacre,  yes,  and  mis 
guided  prayers  are  painted  upon  the  bronze  sides. 


"  Every  dent  and  scar  upon  its  time-worn  sur 
face  are  epics  of  adventure  and  war  panting  to 
be  translated  —  love  lyrics  too,  and  low-voiced 
chants,  and  songs  of  triumph  and  defeat  smoth 
ered  in  the  smokes  of  countless  council-fires." 
—  Herbert  Milton  Sylvester  s  "  Casco  Bay"  1904. 

"  He  was  a  man  of  heroic  courage,  of  an  earn 
est  and  self-sacrificing  spirit,  possessed  indeed  of 
qualities,  which,  in  spite  of  some  of  his  miscon 
ceptions  of  the  real  spirit  of  Christianity,  entitle 
him  to  a  measure  of  respect  and  admiration."  — 
James  Phinney  Baxter. 


THE  TWELFTH  ARTICLE  OF  THE  TREATY   OF 

PEACE  CONCLUDED  AT  UTRECHT  ON  THE 

ELEVENTH  DAY  OF  APRIL,  1713. 

THAT  the  most  Christian  King  shall  take  care 
to  have  delivered  to  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain, 
on  the  Same  Day  that  the  Ratifications  of  this 
Treaty  shall  be  exchanged,  Solemn  and  authentic 
Letters  and  Instruments,  by  Virtue  whereof  it 
shall  appear,  that  the  Island  of  St.  Christophers 
is  to  be  possessed  alone  hereafter  by  British  Sub 
jects;  Likewise  all  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadia  with 
its  ancient  Boundries;  as  also  the  City  of  Port 
Royal,  now  called  Annapolis-  Royal,  and  all  other 
Things  in  those  Parts  which  depend  on  the  said 
Lands  and  Islands ;  together  with  the  Dominion, 
Property,  and  Possession  of  the  said  Islands, 
Lands  and  Places,  and  all  Right  whatsoever  by 
Treaties,  or  by  any  other  way  obtained,  which 
the  Most  Christian  King,  the  Crown  of  France 
or  any  the  Subjects  thereof  have  hitherto  had  to 
the  said  Islands,  Lands  and  Places,  and  the  In- 

160 


[  161  ] 

habitants  of  the  same  are  yielded  and  made  over 
to  the  Queen  of  Great  Britain  and  to  her  Crown 
forever  as  the  most  Christian  King  does  at  pres 
ent  yield  and  make  over  all  the  Particulars  above- 
said,  and  that  in  such  Ample  Manner  and  Form, 
that  the  Subjects  of  the  most  Christian  King  shall 
hereafter  be  excluded  from  all  Kinds  of  Fishing 
in  the  Seas,  Bays  and  other  Places  on  the  Coast 
of  Nova  Scotia,  that  is  to  say,  on  those  which  lie 
towards  the  East  within  thirty  Leagues,  beginning 
from  the  Island  Commonly  called  Sable  inclu 
sively,  and  thence  stretching  along  towards  South- 
West. 


AUTHORITIES 

CHARLEVOIX'S  "History  of  New  France"; 
The  Jesuit  Relations;  Parkman's  works,  and 
especially  "A  Half  Century  of  Conflict"  and 
"  The  Jesuits  of  North  America  " ;  Francis' "  Life 
of  Rale  "  ;  James  Phinney  Baxter's  "Pioneers  of 
New  France  in  New  England";  Williamson's 
"History  of  Maine";  Bancroft's  "History  of 
the  Colonization  of  the  United  States";  Ab 
bott's  "History  of  Maine";  Roberts'  "History 
of  Canada";  Collections  of  the  Maine  Histor 
ical  Society;  La  Chasse;  Austin's  "  History  of 
Massachusetts";  "The  Memorials  of  the  Eng 
lish  and  French  Commissaries  Concerning  the 
Limits  of  Nova  Scotia  or  Acadia,"  1 7  50  to  1 7  53  ; 
"The  Abnakis  and  Their  History,"  by  Rev. 
Eugene  Vetromile;  Ridpath's,  Hawthorne's  and 
other  histories  of  the  United  States;  collections 
of  Massachusetts  Historical  Society,  etc. 


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